Rajpriya Gautam

An FT story published over the weekend injected a burst of rare optimism into the African debt relief discussion.  The article by U.S.-based Markets Correspondent Camilla Hodgson  reported on last Tuesday’s remarks by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian that Beijing had reached debt relief settlements with half of the countries who’ve applied for relief under the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative. “Now we have received debt relief requests from over 20 countries, and have reached an agreement with more than 10 of them by the end of July,”  said Zhao at his regular press briefing. This is potentially a significant breakthrough in a process that has moved much slower than African leaders and other stakeholders had hoped. While the news that China has concluded agreements with ten countries is widely seen as progress, it’s nonetheless hard to tell for sure since other than Zhao’s brief, and quite general comments on the issue last week Beijing’s failed to provide any ot

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, once again, issued a breakdown of the country’s debt to external creditors in a bid to push back against the widely-held, yet misinformed perception that the country is in debt beyond its capacity — mostly to China. On Friday, the DMO responded to a Freedom of Information request from a law firm that wanted to know about “ external loans of $76 billio n  incurred by the federal government .” The $76 billion figure, however, is totally fictitious. The DMO replied that Nigeria only owes $27.6 billion with about half of that due to Eurobond holders ($10.8) and the China Exim Bank ($3.12 billion). With  a debt-to-GDP ratio of just 31.5% , many financial analysts consider Nigeria’s current debt levels to be manageable. Read m ore on the story on The Cable website. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals

The move by the United States last week to sanction the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) could have far-reaching implications that extend all the way to Africa, where the state-owned construction giant has an enormous presence. The U.S. State and Commerce departments imposed visa and export restrictions on 24 Chinese companies, including CCCC, for their involvement in building artificial islands in the highly-contested South China Sea. Although these new sanctions were specifically targeted at Chinese entities operating in the Western Pacific, there’s a real risk that African countries could become ensnared in this rapidly escalating confrontation. Just as with the U.S. campaign against telecom giant Huawei, these new U.S. measures aim to restrict American companies from supplying U.S.-origin technology to CCCC and the other Chinese firms on the list without a license. Given that CCCC is building a number of major African infrastructure projects (see below for details

The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is Africa’s largest international contractor, with a 40-year history of building some of the continent’s largest infrastructure projects,  according to a company promotional video . Some of CCCC’s recent projects are among Africa’s most expensive, highest-profile construction initiatives ever undertaken: West Africa’s largest container port at the Port of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya. Ethiopia’s first highway that connects Addis Ababa to Adama. The new suspension bridge in the Mozambican capital of Maputo. W atch the full video on the CCCC Facebook page. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access.

China’s territorial issues related to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea are becoming increasingly prominent topics of discussion when Chinese ambassadors engage with African governments and media. While these so-called “core interests” have always been a part of the Chinese diplomatic dialogue in Africa, they seem to be generating more visibility lately as Beijing faces criticism for the internment of millions of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, the imposition of a new national security law in Hong Kong, and more recently, U.S. challenges to China’s dominance in the contested South China Sea. The One China Policy related to Taiwan is also an increasingly popular theme. Every week now, we’re seeing more African media coverage, official readouts from Chinese-African diplomatic exchanges, and posts on Chinese diplomatic Twitter accounts in Africa that feature comments about Chinese territorial issues. Most likely, the Chinese are attempting to solidify already strong supp

The news that Chinese-owned African mobile phone giant Tecno sold tens of thousands of phones infected with malicious viruses between 2018 and 2019 is now a major international story.  CNN , the  BBC  and  dozens of African news outlets  have been covering it in detail and, not surprisingly given the company’s enormous market share across the continent,  it’s also a hot topic of discussion on social media . Sensing the potential longterm PR damage a crisis like this can do to a brand, a lot of multinational companies would react with a robust communications engagement strategy in an effort to reassure customers, regulators, and various other stakeholders. But not Tecno. The company  issued a single short statement on Wednesday  that they shared with some media outlets but didn’t distribute anywhere else. Neither the statement nor any mention of the crisis appeared on  their corporate website  or any of the  company’s social media channels . Within hours of the  BuzzFeed News report

The London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)  responded this week to the Ghanaian government’s controversial decision  to renew the fishing license for the Chinese trawler Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956. The EJF’s main point of contention is that Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 has engaged in illegal activity, has been sanctioned by regulators, and refused to pay its fines, yet still received a fishing license. Read more on the story on the Pulse Kenya website. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access. SUBSCRIBE: $15 per month SUBSCRIBE: $149 per year -17% Savings The post Leading Environmental Protection NGO Responds to Ghana’s Controversial Decision to Re-License a Chinese Trawler appeared first on The

Under mounting public pressure, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered an investigation into Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) and its handling of the March 2020 PPE donations from the Jack Ma Foundation, amid allegations that they were illicitly sold, lost or wasted. The president is demanding a report on the situation within 21 days. Read more on the story on the Pulse Kenya website. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access. SUBSCRIBE: $15 per month SUBSCRIBE: $149 per year -17% Savings The post Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta Wants to Know What Happened to the Missing Jack Ma PPE Donations appeared first on The China Africa Project . source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2020/08/2

China’s former ambassador to Kenya and the new head of the African Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wu Peng, laid out his agenda in a  recent column published in the state-run China Daily newspaper . There were no surprises in the essay. Wu focused largely on well-established priorities including COVID-19 cooperation, debt relief, and support for multilateralism. It’s noteworthy, though, that he didn’t mention the need for Africa to reaffirm its support for China’s One China Policy as that has become an increasingly prominent issue with Taiwan’s new ties with Somaliland. African leaders have expressed support for China’s policies in both Xinjiang and Hong Kong in the recent past. Wu,  according to Africa Intelligence , is developing a counter-attack strategy against both Taiwan and Somaliland, to challenge their new diplomatic relationship. Key Highlights From Wu Peng’s China Daily Article: DEBT RELIEF:  “In line with the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initia

The Chinese embassy in Cameroon  posted a short, seemingly innocuous video today that commemorated 40 years of development in Shenzhen , a once-sleepy fishing town near Hong Kong that is now one of the world’s leading tech hubs with a population of 13+ million people. There’s a very important message here that resonates widely in Africa: how a city like Shenzhen in a country like China went from being as poor and underdeveloped as most of Africa is today to become one of the world’s most advanced societies. To be sure, China faces a number of challenges in Africa today and its reputation in many corners is severely diminished. But none of that takes away from the potency of this kind of message:  “if we did it, you can too.” Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your fre

The Chinese-owned African mobile phone giant Tecno is rebutting new accusations that its W2 phones came pre-installed with malware. In a statement sent to the  Nigerian tech news website Silicon Nigeria on Tuesday , Tecno claimed that the Triada malware was first discovered in April 2018 and since then the company distributed a patch that customers could use to remove the program. The company added that if customers ran any system updates on their phones since 2018, then that would have eliminated the problem. For those who haven’t yet done so the company advised: “For current W2 users facing Triada issue presently, we advise that they download the [over the air] fix on their phone for installation, or contact TECNO’s after-sales service support for assistance.” Interestingly, the statement made no mention of the xHelper malware program that Secure-D also discovered on Tecno’s W2 phones. Secure-D, the security division of the mobile technology company Upstream Systems that identifie

It’s been six months since the first shipment of personal protective equipment and other materials donated by the Jack Ma Foundation arrived in Kenya and still, only 24 of the 81 infrared thermometers have been distributed, according to the Ministry of Health. It’s the same story for the 12 respiratory ventilation tools, known as positive airway pressure kits, none of which have so far been put to use. Although some of the donated materials have made it to clinics and other medical facilities that have treated the  30,000+ patients infected with COVID-19 , the government nonetheless admitted that some of the rest is still sitting in warehouses. These latest revelations come on the heels of a  damning NTV investigation that uncovered widespread fraud  related to the donated PPE and that a considerable portion of the materials was sold on the black market to buyers in Tanzania and,  in some cases, back to the Kenyan Ministry of Health at inflated prices. The Directorate of Criminal I

Protests turned violent this week in eastern Kenya’s Kitui County, where local activists blocked the road to a Sinohydro construction site where they claim the Chinese contractor is polluting the local water supply. Sinohydro is building the new Kibwezi-Kitui–Migwani Road that will create a direct route from the port of Mombasa to Ethiopia without having to pass through Nairobi. Protestors say that the Chinese construction has drained much of the water from the local Kalundu river and replaced it with sewage. They’re also complaining that Sinohydro’s heavy construction equipment is damaging their community’s other roads. Read  more on the story and watch video of the protest on the Kenyans.co.ke website. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article

In a highly unusual move,  the Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe published a detailed rebuttal on the Bulawayo24.com website  against allegations that they were involved in the return of the controversial Anjin diamond mine. The spat began on Sunday when The Standard columnist Tawanda Majoni published a scathing article that implied  the Chinese government played a role in revitalizing Anjin after it was banned from the country in 2016 . Majoni’s comments clearly irked the embassy because they came at him with the type of rhetoric usually reserved the likes of Mike Pompeo and Beijing’s other “tier 1 critics.” They described his column as filled with “unfounded accusations, conjectures, and sheer lies, proving nothing but an appalling lack of common sense and self-confidence.” What’s interesting here what issues provoke the Chinese to respond so quickly and forcefully? It’s odd because when there are often legitimate issues that necessitate a Chinese embassy statement or comment, they’re u

The Chinese state-owned contractor building the rail cars for the new Abuja-Kaduna Railway and Lagos-Ibadan Railway SGR lines proudly announced the trains have started their journey from China to Nigeria. But not everyone’s happy about the news. A lot of people on social media seem to think these new trains look a bit, well, old.  P eople posted pictures of China’s sleek new bullet trains and wondered why Nigeria was getting the older-looking diesel models. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access. SUBSCRIBE: $15 per month SUBSCRIBE: $149 per year -17% Savings The post Nigeria’s New Standard Gauge Railway Trains Are on Their Way From China appeared first on The China Africa Project . source

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Julie Lechanteux, a conservative French MP in the European Union parliament and a member of Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National party, channeled the growing unease across wide swathes of French society  about the country’s declining influence in Africa and the rise of China on the continent. TWEET TRANSLATION:  While some accuse France of all sorts of bad things, the cutting up of the African continent by the Chinese continues.  Why do those who say they defend Africa never talk about it? Because their hatred of France comes first? Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access. SUBSCRIBE: $15 per month SUBSCRIBE: $149 per year -17% Savings The post Do People Give the Chinese a Pass

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Ghanaian fishing authorities have reportedly renewed the permit for the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956, a Chinese vessel operated by Rongcheng Ocean Fishery Co. Ltd., even though the company has so far refused to pay a $1 million fine it incurred last year for using illegal nets. Even after it was fined, the trawler  was caught again fishing illegally . The trawler  was impounded and fined a second time  this year in May. Ghana is  well known for its weak enforcement of fishing laws  and its inability or refusal (it’s not clear) to collect fines. News of the Lu Rong Yuan Yu’s permitting comes just one day after  President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the government was committed to cracking down on the illegal fishing  practice known as “Saiko” where catches are illegally transferred at sea. It’s well documented that Chinese vessels similar to the Lu Rong Yuan Yu engage in Saiko fishing. Last week, the non-governmental organization Friends of the Nation  warned that Saiko and other forms

The Chinese embassy in Pretoria published a detailed statement on Monday in which it openly expressed concern about the safety of the Chinese diaspora in South Africa following the brutal murder of 7 Chinese nationals in the past 50 days. Embassy officials, according to the statement, met with local law enforcement leaders to convey their concern about the safety of both Chinese nationals and ethnic Chinese South Africans. The statement appears to be an effort to reassure the local Chinese population in South Africa as it was only published on the Chinese-language section of the embassy’s website, rather than in English or on social media channels as is often the case with similar statements. SUGGESTED READING: Independent Online :  We’re being slaughtered by criminals, says Chinese community in SA after brutal killing of couple  by Anna Cox Independent Online :  Chinese community demand justice over couple who were gunned down in Joburg CBD  by Sheree Bega Read the full statem

An investigation by the mobile security firm Secure-D confirmed that some Tecno phones sold in Africa and other parts of the world came pre-installed with malware. The infected phones would secretly download apps and attempt to trick users into subscribing for paid services without their consent. Transsion, the Chinese company that owns Tecno, acknowledged the presence of the Triada and xHelper programs on the phones and attributed the problem to an unidentified “vendor in the supply chain process,”  according to a report published by Buzzfeed news. A spokesperson said Transsion did not profit from the malware, and they declined to say how many handsets were infected. Why the Infected Tecno Phones Represents a Huge Problem LOW PRICES = LOW SECURITY:  Companies like Transsion are able to sell phones at rock bottom prices to low-income consumers in places like Africa in part because these devices don’t include the same kind of robust security features that are standard on more expe

Investors in Africa’s most valuable public company, Naspers, breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after hearing that any White House measures against WeChat and its parent company Tencent won’t be as broad as initially feared. A Naspers subsidiary is Tencent’s largest shareholder, owning 31% of the company, so any U.S. sanctions against Tencent would likely impact the African media giant as well.  (BLOOMBERG) Other China-Africa Tech News: E-COMMERCE:  Chinese phone maker Vivo on Monday announced a partnership with Africa’s largest online retailer Jumia to expand its footprint in the Kenyan market.  (XINHUA) SATELLITE TV:  The Director-General of the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, Mallam Mohammed Ibn Yakubu, revealed on Monday that a joint venture to transmit the broadcast signal of Chinese-owned pay-TV company StarTimes has not generated any profit in its 11-year history.  (DAILY POST) SKILLS DEVELOPMENT:  Huawei South Africa has added online training in Artificial Intelli

PDP opposition legislators from the House of Representatives took to the media on Monday to voice their concerns that a three-week postponement will jeopardize the investigation into Chinese loans.  The House of Representatives last week suspended all investigations, public hearings, and committee meetings until September for its annual recess. That has legislators like Mark Gbillah concerned that the controversial inquiry into the validity of various Chinese loans will be compromised. “We are still in the realm of allegations and speculations, but when a three-week break has been allowed, compromises can be made; people can be appealed to, offers, overtures can be made to those carrying out those investigations,” he said in an interview on Channels TV.  “This is Nigeria,” he added. Read more on the story and watch the full interview with Representative Gbillah on the ChannelsTV website. Latest News & Commentary on the Chinese Loan Probe in Nigeria: PUNCH:   Reps panel membe

Julie Lechanteux, a conservative French MP in the European Union parliament and a member of Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National party, channeled the growing unease across wide swathes of French society  about the country’s declining influence in Africa and the rise of China on the continent. TWEET TRANSLATION:  While some accuse France of all sorts of bad things, the cutting up of the African continent by the Chinese continues.  Why do those who say they defend Africa never talk about it? Because their hatred of France comes first? Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network. You've reached your free monthly article limit. Subscribe today for unlimited access. SUBSCRIBE: $15 per month SUBSCRIBE: $149 per year -17% Savings The post Do People Give the Chinese a Pass in

For Refusing a Drink With the Boss, He Was Slapped in the Face A Chinese bank apologized for the “drunken misconduct” of two directors at a work dinner. The episode led to scrutiny of the country’s professional drinking culture. from Diigo https://ift.tt/3aVD92U via IFTTT

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American and Chinese Officials Take Pulse on Trade Deal, Six Months In Trade negotiators from the two countries met by videoconference to review the progress in enacting their trade deal. from Diigo https://ift.tt/2QkOCiG via IFTTT

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W. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. and the former minister of public works in Liberia,  wrote another provocative article  on U.S.-China-Africa relations  that ricocheted across the internet over the weekend . As U.S.-China relations rapidly deteriorate, seemingly by the day, Moore is emerging as a forceful voice calling on African governments “to chart a new course” and avoid becoming entangled in this latest great power rivalry. What sets Moore’s analysis apart from that of other analysts in Washington and Beijing, is that’s he willing to bluntly say what others won’t, sharply criticizing both sides for policies that undermine African economic growth and political agency. “Both China and the West benefit from a global system that confines Africa’s role to being a source of unprocessed natural resources and a market for finished products,”  he wrote in the column published on the South African news site Mail & Guardian

China’s General Administration of Customs published a list  of 46 meat processing plants around the world that have halted exports to China due to COVID-19 outbreaks among their workers. But Namibia, so far, is not on the list. That’s important because Namibia’s state-run meat processing company Meatco has  sold 973,412 metric tons to Chinese buyers this year  despite the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent slow down in trade. If Namibian meat processing facilities can remain COVID-free, sales are poised to increase further. China is  importing record amounts of pork  and beef to make up for the devastating loss of as much as  60% of the country’s pig livestock  due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever. Now, the Chinese government appears to be eager to restock its pork reserves in an effort that also appears to be having ancillary benefits on the beef market as well. Namibia’s been selling beef to China only since last May . Namibia and South Africa are, to date, the only African