The editorial board of Financial Times published an op-ed yesterday announcing a new commodities supercycle. They argued that the global pivot towards climate-friendlier technologies like electric vehicles is pushing demand for metals like cobalt, lithium and palladium (used in catalytic converters.) In addition, the Biden administration’s new commitments to building infrastructure at home (and possibly abroad) will further boost demand for steel, with iron ore futures hitting record prices in Singapore this week.Where FT ...
Category: Human Rights
Kenyan State Media Features a Full-Throated Denunciation of Western Genocide Claims Against China’s Treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
The state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation published a stinging editorial on Wednesday by one of its own journalists, Eric Biegon, that slammed U.S., European and Australian accusations of genocide leveled against China for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. ...
If the U.S. is Going to Criticize China For Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang, Beijing’s South African Envoy is Going to do The Same Over American Police Brutality Against Black People
China's Ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, is apparently keen to raise awareness about police brutality against Black people in the United ...
Sudan is the Latest Muslim-Majority Country Where China is Gathering Support for Its Policies in Xinjiang
Chinese ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin published a lengthy column in this weekend's Sudanese Voice newspaper to make the case for why "anti-China forces in certain Western countries" are wrong to accuse China of human rights violations in Xinjiang. ...
Human Rights Watch’s Africa Advocacy Director Can’t Understand Why African Leaders Are “Shielding China Over Xinjiang”
Human Rights Watch Africa Advocacy Director Carine Kaneza Nantulya is puzzled as to why African governments are not doing anything to confront China on the mass internment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang. She noted in a post on Monday that it's especially ironic that African ...
Key Highlights From Wang Yi’s Six-Nation Tour of the Persian Gulf and Turkey
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi returned home on Sunday after wrapping up a five-day, six-nation tour of the Persian Gulf and Turkey. Wang's visit highlighted the growing importance that Beijing now assigns to its diplomatic ties in the broader MENA arena and its aspirations to play a larger ...
Human Rights, Non-Interference and Trade at the Top of Wang Yi’s Agenda in Saudi Arabia
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kicked off a week-long six-nation tour of the Persian Gulf and Turkey on Wednesday with a stop in Riyadh, where he met with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Relations between the two countries have ...
China Cranks Up the Campaign to Lobby African Stakeholders on Xinjiang
With Xinjiang now emerging as a core dividing issue in the increasingly acrimonious U.S.-China relationship, it appears that Beijing is leaning even more on its ties in Africa and other parts of the Global South as part of an effort to build a coalition ...
South African Retailers Under Pressure to Ensure Supply Chains Free of Xinjiang Cotton
South Africa's major retailers are under scrutiny from civil society groups to ensure their supply chains do not contain any apparel products that use cotton from China's Xinjiang autonomous region. There are well-documented concerns that Uyghur minority populations are forced to pick cotton by hand.
In Africa, Chinese Diplomats Actively Promote Their Side of the Xinjiang Story — Even in Muslim Majority Countries
While in the U.S. and Europe Xinjiang is a highly contentious issue, that's not the case in most of Africa, even in Muslim-majority countries like Chad, where Chinese public diplomacy is very active in projecting Beijing's narrative on the issue. SUGGESTED ...
China Launches Full-Scale Media Blitz in Africa to Counter Mounting U.S-European Pressure on Xinjiang
China's propaganda strategists launched a full-scale campaign in print, broadcast and social media to rebut allegations of genocide and widespread human rights violations in Xinjiang. The effort is especially noticeable in Africa where over the past 24 hours, Chinese diplomatic ...