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.’ ...
Category: Labor
African Textile Unions Call For Increased Government Protection Against Illegal Imports From China
Years of illegal textile imports and low-cost replicas from China have decimated Africa's once-thriving textile manufacturing sector and labor unions across the continent are calling on the government to do something about it. At a recent meeting of IndustriAll Global Union ...
Chinese Embassy in Harare Angrily Refutes “Smear Campaign” by Zimbabwe Unions
The Chinese embassy in Harare came to the defense of a local Chinese tile company accused of forcing its employees to endure “slave-like working conditions.” The embassy published a statement on its website that challenged the authenticity of videos that have been circulating depicting the poor ...
Tensions Between a Chinese Manager and Congolese Employee at a DRC Mine Erupt… and Go Viral on Social Media
Videos of brawls between expatriate Chinese managers and local employees in African countries are surfacing with increasing frequency. On June 30th, a fight broke out between a Congolese employee at the Tenke Fungurumé Mining company in Kowlezi and his Chinese manager over the worker's reported frustration about poor ...
An Agricultural Trade Comparison of Africa’s Development Partners: How Does China Measure Up?
Agriculture remains the backbone of many African economies since it accounts for approximately 60% of all employment, a main earner of foreign exchange, source of both savings and tax revenues and accounts for around 40% of the continent’s hard currency. The agricultural sector is the main source ...
Debunking Myths About Chinese Labor in Africa
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments this week that suggested China imports labor to work on infrastructure projects highlights the incredible durability of one of the oldest myths about Chinese engagement. The reality is there's been a steady decline in ...
Blinken Warns of Chinese Debt Traps and Imported Labor in Q&A With African Youth
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken resuscitated widely debunked theories about debt traps and imported labor to warn African countries about the dangers of working too closely with Beijing. His comments on Tuesday provide the most detailed ...
Transcript of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Q&A Exchange About Chinese Engagement in Africa
WAZAM OBANOR: Considering the growth of the Chinese in Africa, will the U.S. be competing with China in Africa -- especially as it pertains to Africa's growth over the next few years? U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN: Thank you Wazam, ...
Five Reasons Why Chinese Private Investment is Flowing Into Africa
Almost a decade, China passed the United States to become Africa's leading source of foreign direct investment. LSE Senior Visiting Fellow Shirley Ze Yu explains why Chinese companies are looking to Africa for new opportunities and how today's African market is reminiscent of what China ...
New Stats Reveal China-Africa Trade, Aid Flows Rose in 2019, But FDI Kept Falling
Researchers at the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. published a highly-anticipated update on Wednesday to their data sets that track Chinese economic engagement with the continent. The new figures for 2019 can't be summed up in a single, simple ...
Conservation Group Reports “Appalling” Human Rights Violations Aboard Chinese-Owned Fishing Trawlers in Ghana
The London-based conservation group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) published a damning report on Monday that details "appalling" human rights violations aboard Chinese-owned fishing trawlers that operate in Ghanaian waters. The report details extensive exploitation of local crew members by Chinese managers ...