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.’ ...
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Week in Review: Trade, Tilapia and Transmission Lines
Wycliffe Oparanya, governor of Kenya's Kakamega County, opened a new $120 million EU-financed fish processing factory that is intended to help Kenya reduce its dependence on imported Chinese tilapia and increase exports to Europe. Local fishers have long complained that low-cost Chinese imports, which they claim are also ...
African Iron Ore Producers Poised to Benefit From Supply Constraints Brought on By Disruptions in Australia and Brazil
Strong demand from Chinese steel mills, combined with supply disruptions in two of the world's largest iron ore producing countries, Brazil and Australia, will help to maintain near record-high ore prices, according to analyst forecasts. Chinese buyers may turn more to ...
China’s Infrastructure Soft Power Diplomacy in Africa
China's approach to soft power diplomacy in Africa differs markedly from that of other major powers, namely the United States, France and the UK. While those countries rely heavily on cultural products like movies and music to promote their cultures, China uses glamor shots of beautiful new ...
Translation: A Storm is Approaching For Chinese Mining Companies in the DR Congo
The following is a translation of an article published on the Global Mining (世界矿业 )WeChat page on July 15, 2021. The purpose of translations like this is to provide English language readers with a more informed understanding of the civil society discourse about China-Africa relations that ...
South African Resource Exports to China Struggle to Get Going Again After Last Week’s Mayhem
Exports of critical minerals and other extractive commodities to China through South Africa's main port in Durban remain intermittent as the country digs itself out of the wreckage brought on by last week's mass protests and looting. At least 212 people died in the violence. ...
Week in Review: Minerals, Mayhem and Mediation
With most strategic mineral exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo shipped to China through the port of Durban in South Africa, the recent closure of the N3 highway that connects the port to Johannesburg presents a potentially costly disruption to vital supply chains. Authorities were forced ...
Hunan Provincial Authorities Provide Film & Media Training to 65 Journalists From Across Francophone Africa
Media companies and government officials from China's central Hunan province are in the midst of a two-week training program for French-speaking journalists from across Africa, including 20 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and others from Senegal, Cameroon, and Gabon among other countries. ...
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 ...
When It Comes To Mining, Africa and Australia Are the Primary Sources of Key Minerals and Metals for China
China may be trying to transition to a services-led high technology economy that doesn't rely as much on manufacturing but that shift will take years. In the meantime, Chinese factories still need to rely on vast amounts of minerals, metals, and other mining products to bolster their ...
NGO Report: DRC is the “Loser” in the Sicomines Mega-Mining Deal With China
The DR Congo will be saddled with debt and poor quality infrastructure as a result of the faulty 2008 deal between the state-run mining company Gecamines and a consortium of Chinese investors, according to a new report by the Kinshasa-based NGO African Resources Watch ...