As things slowly settle down in South Africa after the last ruinous week, the debates about who’s really to blame are catching fire. It’s now being called an insurrection attempt, and President Ramaphosa has referred to those responsible for fueling the protests as ‘enemies of democracy.’ One of the problems underlying the current crisis is that he’s both right and wrong. South Africa is indeed, as Ramaphosa called it, a ‘hard-fought-for democracy.’ ...
Author: Lu Xinqing
Lu Xinqing was the former China-Africa Agricultural Cooperation Program at AGRA, a non-profit based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on developing and implementing strategic partnerships with China and strengthening African countries’ capacity to effectively leverage Chinese aid and investment to support agricultural transformation. Prior to AGRA, she worked as an associate strategy officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Beijing office and a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. She is currently pursing a master in advanced global studies, concentration in environmental policy at Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), SciencesPo.
Prior to AGRA, she worked as an associate strategy officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Beijing office to drive the innovation and China-Africa strategy. Xinqing also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company's Shanghai office focusing on public and social sector engagements.
China’s Distant-Water Fishing and Its Impact in West Africa
In recent years, China’s distant-water fishing (DWF) has expanded rapidly, particularly off the coast of West Africa, attracting the attention of NGOs and the international community. In April 2020, the Chinese government began to implement significantly stricter Regulations on the Management of Distant Water Fisheries. The new ...
Why Agricultural Cooperation Needs To Be High on the Agenda at Next Year’s China-Africa Summit
In less than a year, the 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit will take place in Senegal. Ever since the first FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in Beijing in 2000, this triennial Summit has been gradually institutionalized as a platform for bilateral and multilateral dialogues to shape ...
Potential China-Africa Collaboration on Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems
Agriculture and food systems are a concept that aims at breaking down silos between the agriculture value chain, health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability. Agri-food systems are essential in managing and preserving biodiversity, adapting to and tackling climate change, realizing sustainable food systems, and achieving the Sustainable Development ...
Why China Needs to Do a Better Job in Monitoring and Evaluating Its Agricultural Development Projects in Africa
Since I started working for a non-profit organization, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is: “so, if you’re giving out free money, how do you measure your success and failure?” This, of course, is a fair and relevant ...
What It Takes to Build a Successful Chinese Agricultural Partnership in Mozambique
It’s 9am in the morning and a message arrived on my WeChat: “The storm last night burnt down the water pump’s transformer again and now the local Water User Association came and asked for 18,000 Metical (around $278) for repairs. Furthermore, it’s difficult to collect the water ...