The China-Global South Podcast (The China-Global South Project)
Explore every episode of The China-Global South Podcast
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| 16 Jan 2025 | China and the Global South in the Trump 2.0 Era | 00:55:08 | |
On Monday, January 20, Donald Trump will take the oath of office and return to power as president of the United States. Trump is promising to overhaul U.S. foreign and commercial policy in what many experts believe will mark the start of a very tumultuous period — not just for the United States but also for countries around the world. Sarah Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute in Washington, D.C. joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the impact of the coming Trump presidency on developing countries and how he expects China to respond. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 29 Oct 2024 | Power Shift: China’s Role in Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Transformation | 00:59:28 | |
Even though the five countries in Central Asia are among the world's largest fossil fuel producers, the region faces chronic electricity shortages due to a lack of refining capacity. The energy crunch is further compounded by a reluctance to become overly dependent on Russian fuel. To solve both problems, several Central Asian governments are looking to source renewable energy technology from China. While wind and solar still account for a small share of Central Asia's total energy production, that may soon change as more affordable Chinese green tech enters the market. Yunis Sharifli, an independent Eurasia foreign policy analyst, recently explored this trend in an article published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Yunis joins Eric & Cobus to explain the geopolitics powering the green energy transition in Central Asia. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 19 Feb 2025 | Debate: Is China a Helpful or Horrible Trade Partner for Global South Countries? | 00:58:47 | |
At last week's Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi touted his country's 5% economic growth last year as a "benefit to the world" thanks to all of the trade it does with countries around the world. While countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, among other regions, are no doubt selling more raw materials to China, critics contend, though, that this trade pattern isn't healthy and mostly in China's favor. This week, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud debate whether Chinese trade is helping or hurting developing countries and whether China's role as the world's manufacturer is also the primary reason why poor countries remain stuck at the bottom of the industrial value chain. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 17 Jan 2024 | Guarding West Africa's Forests: Exploring Ways to Put an End to Illegal Chinese Timber Trade | 00:52:18 | |
Together, the United States and China import $40 billion worth of timber products each year, quite a bit of which is harvested illegally from West Africa's rapidly shrinking forests. But cracking down on this illicit trade is extremely difficult given that many of the region's governments are actively complicit. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an NGO based in the U.S. and UK, recently traced how Chinese merchants trafficked rosewood timber from the forests Equatorial Guinea back to China and eventually all the way to store shelves at Home Depot in the United States. Last year, EIA published their findings in a damning investigative report. Ma Haibing, an Asia policy specialist at EIA, was part of the team that worked on that report. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss the key findings and what he recommends can be done to crack down on this destructive trade. SHOW NOTES:
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| 23 Feb 2024 | What Exactly is the "Global South"? | 01:08:07 | |
Editor's Note: we're sharing this bonus episode of the China in Africa Podcast given that the topic is so relevant for our audience interested in China-Global South issues. Academics and think tank analysts, predominantly in the U.S. and Europe, spend a lot of time debating whether it's appropriate to use the nomenclature "Global South" to describe developing countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, among other regions. In those regions, it's actually less of an issue where framings like "South-South" are commonplace. The use of the word "South" doesn't seem to be as sensitive an issue as it is for those observers in the "Global North." This week, Jorge Heine, a research professor at Boston University and former Chilean ambassador to South Africa, India and China, joins Eric & Cobus to give a passionate defense of the "Global South" and why he feels it's more important than ever now to embrace the concept. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 28 Jan 2025 | China's Role in the Panama Canal Controversy | 00:46:20 | |
When Donald Trump criticized Panama for its management of the canal that he claimed had fallen under Chinese control, many people at first thought this was just another round of Trump's usual bluster. But since his election last November, the President has been relentless in pressuring the government in Panama City and shows no signs of backing down until all Chinese entities have been expelled from the canal zone. Alonso Illueca, an associate law professor at the Universidad Santa María La Antigua and a specialist in China-Panama relations, joins Eric & Cobus from Panama City to discuss the escalating crisis and why the government doesn't have a lot of options to push back against the U.S. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 16 Sep 2024 | How Persian Gulf Countries Are Responding to the U.S.-China Rivalry | 00:35:07 | |
For much of the past thirty years, since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been largely unrivaled in its power in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. Today, that is no longer the case as the U.S. faces new challenges both from regional powers like Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as international competitors, including China and Russia. This transition to multipolarity is transforming the region and served as the thesis of a special edition of the academic journal Middle East Policy that came out earlier this year. Three of the journal's editors on this project, Andrea Ghiselli from Fudan University in Shanghai, University of Naples China scholar Enrico Fardella, and Durham University international relations professor Anoushiravan Ehteshami, join Eric to discuss how the different countries in the region are adapting to the Sino-U.S. rivalry. SHOW NOTES: Download the Spring 2024 edition of Middle East Policy (you'll need institutional access or have to pay a small fee): https://bit.ly/3XvvLUm JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 30 Apr 2024 | China's Growing Influence in the Persian Gulf | 00:55:54 | |
It wasn't that long ago the Persian Gulf was a no-go zone for Chinese diplomacy. Back then, China didn't source much energy from Gulf countries, and its diplomats were ill-equipped to handle the region's contentious politics. That is no longer the case. The six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council collectively form one of China's largest trading blocs anywhere in the world... and not just for energy. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others are now major destinations for Chinese investment in tech, autos, and other non-oil sectors. But this relationship is still relatively new and often poorly understood by outsiders. The team at the ChinaMed Project issued a new report this month that provides a helpful country-by-country overview of the key issues that frame China's ties in the Persian Gulf. Enrico Fardella, director of the ChinaMed Project and an associate professor at the University of Naples, along with Andrea Ghiselli, the ChinaMed Project's research director and an assistant professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, join Eric and Cobus to discuss the different narratives about how Chinese and Gulf stakeholders view one another. SHOW NOTES: JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 18 Nov 2024 | Is China Building a New Military Base in Cambodia? Maybe. Probably. | 00:45:48 | |
Chinese contractors have been renovating the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia for the past two years, leading to widespread suspicion that the upgraded facility could eventually serve as a future outpost for the PLA Navy in Southeast Asia. Despite compelling evidence that Chinese naval forces have been stationed at the base for much of the year, both the Chinese and Cambodian governments deny these claims. Christopher Woody, an independent defense journalist based in Bangkok, argues that while it seems the Chinese military is set to maintain a presence at the base, it may not resemble a traditional military installation. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 21 Feb 2024 | China-Indonesia Ties in the New Prabowo Subianto Era | 00:31:14 | |
They're still counting the votes in Indonesia after last week's election but it's all but certain that Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto will become the country's next president. While some of the world's major powers, like the U.S. and India, are holding back their official congratulations, the Chinese weren't so reserved. Ambassador Lu Kang went to Prabowo's private residence on Sunday and was photographed playing with the likely president's cat, Bobby -- a clear signal Beijing is keen to build a close relationship with the new administration in Jakarta. CGSP's Southeast Asia Editor Antonia Timmerman joins Eric to discuss the geopolitics now swirling over the archipelago and what's ahead for China-Indonesia ties in the Prabowo era. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 30 Jan 2024 | China's New Investment Priorities in Latin America and the Caribbean | 00:52:27 | |
For much of the past year, there's been a lot of talk about China's new leaner, more focused Belt and Road Initiative that goes by the mantra "Smart and Beautiful." The problem is very few people actually know what it looks like in practice. But that's starting to change, particularly in regions like Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) where two seemingly contradictory investment trends are taking place: overall Chinese FDI in the region is down but in key areas, so-called "new infrastructure," Chinese investments in LAC countries have been going up. Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington co-authored a new report on China's evolving investment priorities in the Americas and joins Eric to discuss why Chinese FDI today looks very different than it even just a few years ago. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 05 Mar 2024 | Surveying the Geopolitical Landscape in SE Asia With ASEAN Wonk Prashanth Parameswaran | 00:56:19 | |
The escalating tensions between China, the Philippines, and the United States in the South China Sea highlight how Southeast Asia is now the most dangerous frontline in the burgeoning Great Power competition between Beijing and Washington. But as this week's ASEAN summit in Australia highlights, there is no consensus in the region over how the Southeast Asian bloc's 11 member states are responding to the rapidly changing geopolitical environment. This week, Eric spoke with Prashanth Parameswaran, a highly regarded analyst on Southeast Asian affairs and founder of the widely-read ASEAN Wonk newsletter, for some perspective on how different countries across the region are positioning themselves in this new era. Show Notes:
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| 09 Apr 2025 | The Fate of China's Global Supply Chains in the New Tariff Era | 00:40:31 | |
With new tariff threats from the Trump administration and rising tensions across key markets, companies and governments alike are scrambling to understand what decoupling—or de-risking—actually looks like in practice. From electronics and apparel to solar panels and electric vehicles, China’s role in global production remains formidable. But is it unshakeable? In this special bonus episode, Eric is joined by Agatha Kratz, Juliana Bouchot, and Lauren Piper from the Rhodium Group, whose recent report "China and the Future of Global Supply Chains" offers one of the clearest pictures yet of what’s happening on the ground. Together, they explore whether Southeast Asia, India, or Latin America can meaningfully absorb China’s manufacturing output—and what the U.S. strategy of sweeping tariffs might mean for inflation, consumers, and the Global South. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 28 Jul 2024 | The ASEAN Wonk on Great Power Politics in Southeast Asia | 01:00:29 | |
The foreign ministers from China, the U.S., Japan, and Russia, among others, all passed through the Laotian capital, Vientiane, over the past several days, ostensibly for an ASEAN gathering. But the real action took place on the sidelines of the meeting, where the ministers held a series of bilaterals that revealed the hardening battle lines among the major powers. The tense discussions highlight the frontline role that Southeast Asia now plays in this burgeoning geopolitical competition that appears to be intensifying over disputes related to Taiwan, the South China Sea, and surging Chinese influence in the region. Prashanth Paramaswaran, writer and creator of the popular ASEAN Wonk Substack newsletter, joins Eric to discuss what happened in Vientiane and the latest on the stand-off between Beijing and Manila over territorial rights in the South China Sea. SHOW NOTES:
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| 08 Oct 2024 | Beyond Railways and Ports: China's Evolving Lending Strategy in Africa | 00:50:29 | |
Chinese lending to African countries rebounded in a big way in 2023 after seven consecutive years of decline. Last year, Chinese lenders approved loans totaling $4.61 billion to African borrowers, a dramatic increase over the $922 million lent in 2022, according to Boston University's Global Development Policy Center (GDPC). In the past, China lent billions to countries like Kenya and Nigeria to build massive infrastructure projects like ports and railways. That is no longer the case today as Chinese lending focuses on smaller, more sustainable initiatives, mainly in the energy, telecom, and logistics sectors. Kevin Gallagher, director of the GDPC, and Diego Morro, a data analyst at GDPC, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the latest trends in Chinese development finance in Africa and a few of the surprises their research uncovered about which countries are getting the most financing. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 04 Mar 2025 | The End of the West and the Future of China | 00:58:32 | |
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision this week to pause military funding for Ukraine and to align his government with Russia further widens the cleavage between the United States and Europe — effectively breaking what has long been known as "the West." At first glance, many of China's Western critics will see this as welcome news, but it also means that Beijing must navigate in a much more fragmented and turbulent geopolitical environment. The Paris-based global affairs think tank Institut Montaigne recently published a detailed forecast of the challenges that lie ahead for China over the coming decade. The report's authors, François Godement and Pierre Pinhas, join Eric & Cobus to discuss four scenarios they mapped out that could shape China's trajectory in this new era. SHOW NOTES:
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| 02 Apr 2024 | Why a Chinese-backed Canal Project in Cambodia is Making Vietnam Very Nervous | 00:30:24 | |
Former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen was in Beijing last week lobbying the Chinese government to move forward with the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal project which his son, President Hun Manet, has made the centerpiece of his new administration. The new canal would connect Phnom Penh's inland port to Kep province on the Gulf of Thailand, creating a new transport link for Cambodia's garment and agricultural exporters, among others. However, the project is also raising concerns in neighboring Vietnam. Officials there are worried the new canal will divert water from the fragile lower Mekong Delta ecosystem, which provides a vital lifeline for millions of farmers. The Vietnamese also stand to lose a lot of business and are concerned about the potential security implications of the new canal. Jack Brook, an independent journalist based in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, recently wrote about the canal for a story published in Nikkei Asia and joins Eric to explain why this project is generating so much controversy. SHOW NOTES:
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| 02 Apr 2025 | Lessons From Southeast Asia on How to Manage Great Power Rivalries | 00:55:56 | |
China and Vietnam have taken two distinctly different approaches in how they manage their territorial disputes with China. The Philippines is leaning into its alliance with the United States along with new security pacts with more than half a dozen other countries. Vietnam, in contrast, is going it alone. Ironically, Vietnam is expanding its territorial presence in the disputed South China Sea through island reclamation, while the Philippines is merely trying to hold on to the territory it already claims. Yet, the face-off between Beijing and Manila is far more aggressive. Khang Vu, a visiting scholar at Boston College and a leading Vietnam analyst, said the key difference between the two is the Philippines' decision to bring an outside power (the U.S.) into the dispute. Khang joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what lessons the South China Sea confrontation offers other countries trying to manage equally contentious great power rivalries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 22 Jan 2024 | Why Vietnam is Not "In Play" in the U.S.-China Rivalry | 00:56:26 | |
There was a lot of speculation in the U.S. last year that an upgrade of diplomatic ties with Vietnam would prompt Hanoi to be more aligned with Washington in its rivalry with China. While Vietnam did embark on a flurry of diplomatic upgrades with China's rivals in Japan, South Korea and the United States, among others, China nonetheless remains the Southeast Asian country's primary foreign policy priority. And that's never going to change regardless of what the U.S. and others offer Hanoi, according to Khang Vu, a doctoral candidate in Vietnamese foreign policy at Boston College. Khang joins Eric to explain why a combination of geography and history require the Vietnamese to always put China at the center of their international strategy. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 08 May 2024 | Indonesia's Role in the Burgeoning South China Sea Crisis | 00:36:20 | |
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto will take office later this year at a critical time when regional tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea are surging. And this won't be just a foreign policy challenge for the new president. Chinese ships have crossed into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone near the Nantuna Islands at the bottom tip of Beijing's controversial ten-dash line. Managing the escalating crisis in the South China Sea is going to be a "pivotal" challenge for Prabowo, according to Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, director of the China-Indonesia desk at the Center of Economic and Law Studies. Zulfikar joins Eric from Jakarta to discuss how he thinks Prabowo is going to handle what's becoming a very volatile situation. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 04 Jun 2024 | Jane Perlez on the Global South's Role in the U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry | 00:53:05 | |
With memories still fresh from the first Cold War, leaders in Africa, Asia, and across the Global South have repeatedly said they do not want any part of a second Great Power rivalry. But as tensions between the U.S. and China steadily deteriorate, the pressure on these smaller, non-aligned countries is going to surge. The geopolitical dynamics are changing very fast. Jane Perlez, a renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who spent more than thirty years reporting for The New York Times as a foreign correspondent, laid out the challenges in a new eight-part podcast series on the burgeoning U.S.-China strategic competition. Jane joins Eric & Cobus from Sydney to share her insights on where this competition is going and what impact she thinks it will have on developing countries. SHOW NOTES: Listen to Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China hosted by Jane Perlez: https://tinyurl.com/22kkfpu8 JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 19 Mar 2024 | Author Jeremy Garlick on China's Strategic Advantage in the Global South | 00:54:42 | |
U.S. and European officials often lament that they've fallen behind China when it comes to engaging Africa, Asia, the Americas, and other developing regions. Western governments aren't set up to rapidly deploy the kind of money and resources that Beijing's done with its Belt and Road Initiative over the past ten years.
While the U.S. and Europe are now trying to catch up, author Jeremy Garlick writes in his new book Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption that their efforts are hamstrung not only by money but also by history.
Jeremy joins Eric & Cobus to explain why he thinks China's political system provides key systemic advantages over its Western rivals when it comes to engaging the Global South. Show Notes:
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| 25 Feb 2025 | Chinese AI, Automotive Tech Poised to Sweep Across Global South | 00:33:14 | |
When the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer launched DeepSeek on January 20th, the global AI market for large language model (LLM) systems was turned upside down. Investors dumped nearly a trillion dollars of tech stocks in the U.S., panicked by the prospect that a cheaper, more nimbler alternative would undermine the massive investments that companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple were making in AI. A month later, those stocks have all largely recovered. Now, as investors have had time to use DeepSeek and better understand what it can do, there's less concern that it'll displace U.S. tech giants. The focus now is on its impact on the rest of the world. Asia Society Switzerland Fellow John Lee, a veteran Chinese technology analyst, joins Eric to explain why Chinese AI initiatives like DeepSeek along with new innovations in automotive tech are poised to take off in lower-income developing countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 03 Sep 2024 | Why the U.S. is Struggling to Compete in the Global Competition for Critical Resources | 00:56:54 | |
U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to end their country's dependency on China for the critical resources needed to power next-generation mobility and technology. Part of the solution, they say, is to compete directly with the Chinese for lithium, cobalt, and other critical mineral mining rights around the world. The problem is few U.S. mining companies today do that kind of work in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia where these resources are found. But the U.S. is geologically endowed, prompting loud calls to mine these resources at home — which raises another problem. In his new book "The War Below," Reuters correspondent Ernest Scheyder explains how powerful stakeholders have made it very difficult for U.S. mining companies to operate domestically. Ernest joins Eric & Géraud to explain why the politics of mining make it nearly impossible for the U.S. to compete with China for critical resources. PURCHASE THE WAR BELOW ON AMAZON: https://tinyurl.com/24ng24tm JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 21 Oct 2024 | India Claims Major Breakthrough in Border Stand-off With China | 00:50:22 | |
India and China have reached a deal to de-escalate tensions along their bitterly disputed border in the Himalayas, potentially ending a contentious four-year stand-off between the two Asian powers. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday that the two countries agreed to conduct joint military patrols along the border known as the Line of Actual Control. No details of the pact have been released and the Chinese government has yet to comment on the arrangement. If the two countries have, in fact, agreed to pull back their forces and disengage, it would have wide-ranging geopolitical consequences throughout Asia. Sushant Singh, a lecturer in South Asian studies at Yale University and contributing editor of The Caravan magazine in New Delhi, joined Eric & Cobus to discuss the ramifications of de-escalation along the Sino-Indian border. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 26 Nov 2024 | China, Indonesia and the Great Power Competition for Transition Minerals | 00:52:07 | |
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is not a fan of the Biden administration's climate legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), describing it as a "green scam." Trump has promised to repeal it, which will undoubtedly be welcome news in Indonesia. Indonesia is home to the world's largest nickel reserves, a critical ingredient for manufacturing EV batteries. But the IRA aims to limit China's role in the battery supply chain, presenting a huge headache for Indonesian nickel suppliers given the outsized role that Chinese smelters play in the country's mining sector. Putra Adhiguna, managing director at the Energy Shift Institute, an independent non-profit energy finance think tank in Jakarta, joins Eric to discuss Indonesia's uncomfortable position squeezed between China and the U.S. in the race to dominate transition mineral supply chains. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 16 Dec 2024 | Don't Expect a Resolution to the South China Sea Crisis in 2025 | 00:47:00 | |
Tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea flared anew in December after another confrontation at sea. Soon after two vessels collided near the contested Scarborough Shoal, representatives from both sides took to the airwaves to blame the other for the latest incident. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. have made it clear they will not concede even a single inch of territory they claim rightfully belongs to their countries. Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based lecturer at De La Salle University, joins Eric to discuss why the situation going into the new year will remain very tense. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 27 Feb 2024 | China and the Indonesia Nickel Trade: Measuring the True Labor and Environmental Cost | 00:43:43 | |
A lot of EV consumers bought new battery-powered cars in the hope it would be better for the environment than a vehicle with a conventional internal combustion engine that runs on fossil fuels. By some measures, that's no doubt true. But many of these early adopters are also unaware their supposedly "green" cars aren't quite as carbon neutral as promised and that there are serious labor and human rights problems related to the metals used to manufacture the batteries that power those EVs. Krista Shennum, a climate and human rights researcher at Climate Rights International, joins Cobus & Antonia to discuss the situation in Indonesia where Chinese mining companies dominate the all-important nickel sector that's rife with labor and environmental abuses. SHOW NOTES:
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| 13 Aug 2024 | Vietnam's Bamboo Diplomacy: Lessons for Countries Facing Great Power Competition | 00:44:05 | |
Many small and middle-power countries are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate the contentious Great Power rivalry between China and the United States. Even though both Beijing and Washington repeatedly state that they don't want to force other countries to choose one side or the other, it isn't always that simple. Vietnam, however, stands apart from other developing countries in its ability to effectively manage relations with the major powers, including Russia. The main architect of that strategy, known as "bamboo diplomacy," was Nguyen Phu Trong — the long-serving Communist Party General Secretary who passed away last month. Phan Xuan Dung, a research officer in the Vietnamese program at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), joins Eric to discuss Trong's legacy and the lessons bamboo diplomacy offers other developing countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 18 Mar 2025 | China, Africa and the Post-American World | 00:42:37 | |
During his Senate confirmation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the so-called "liberal international order" that he said was obsolete and no longer working for the United States. Since he and his boss, President Donald Trump, took office eight weeks ago, they have thoroughly upended the post-WWII global order that the U.S. itself established and led for the past 75 years.
The changes in Washington are happening so fast that it's impossible to keep up. Every day, institutions many assumed were invincible have either been closed or censured. Now, the challenges facing policymakers around the world is how to adapt to this emerging international system that is no longer anchored in Washington, D.C.
Gyude Moore, an inaugural visiting fellow at Global Neighbours and Liberia's former minister of public works, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what he thinks African countries should do to thrive in a new post-American international order. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 05 Nov 2024 | Update on the State of the BRI in the New "Small and Beautiful" Era | 00:56:16 | |
There's been a lot of talk in recent years about the new "small and beautiful" doctrine that now guides China's Belt and Road Initiative. The problem is that a lot of people still do not understand what it actually means in practice. President Xi Jinping first unveiled the concept at the Third Belt-and-Road Symposium in 2021 when he said that China's overseas development finance would focus more attention on "better connectivity" for telecommunications, energy, and financial services. China has also had to scale down its financing of large-scale infrastructure projects because of economic challenges at home and debt sustainability issues among borrowing countries. Lui Kanyi, a Beijing-based project finance lawyer and head of China at a large international law firm, has been closely following the transformation of the BRI for many of his Chinese clients. Kanyi joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the "small and beautiful" trend and what people should know about the future direction of the BRI. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 22 Apr 2024 | Should China Use Its Influence With Iran to Help the U.S. and Israel? | 00:38:30 | |
Senior U.S. leaders have once again called on China to use its considerable economic leverage to persuade Iran to change its behavior in the escalating conflict with Israel. Various U.S. have made this same request on several occasions already, going back all the way to the day after Hamas launched its assault on southern Israel on October 7th. Each time, though, those U.S. appeals have largely been ignored by the Chinese. That raises two important questions: why does the U.S. keep asking if nothing happens? And, even if Beijing was willing to do act, would the leadership in Tehran even listen? For some perspective on these two questions, Eric spoke with Iran-China scholar Bill Figueroa, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, who explained why so many in Washington are misreading just how much influence China actually has in Iran. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 14 Oct 2024 | China's Paying a High Cost for Its "All-Weather" Relationship With Pakistan | 00:50:44 | |
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Pakistan this week to get ties with its South Asian neighbor back on track after a series of terrorist attacks this year. The latest incident occurred earlier this month near the airport in the southern port city of Karachi when separatist militants with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) killed two Chinese nationals in a suicide bombing. Pakistan has vowed to crack down on the militants but, so far, to little avail. In turn, Beijing has become increasingly frustrated with Islamabad's inability to better protect Chinese interests in the country. Eram Ashraf, a China-Pakistan relations scholar, explained in a column published in The Diplomat how the violence is taking a toll on this vital Chinese diplomatic relationship. She joins Eric & Cobus to explain what's at stake for both sides if the Pakistani government can't contain the BLA. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 11 Dec 2024 | "Some Improvement" But Still a Long Way to Go to Resolve China-India Border Tensions | 00:51:00 | |
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the lower house of parliament last week that "some improvement" had been made in resolving the ongoing border dispute with China. But he also cautioned that a lot more work has to be done and that it will take years to "reset" relations with Beijing. The two sides have pulled back their military forces from seven points along their contested boundary in the Himalayas, so they're no longer in close proximity to one another, but those troops are nonetheless still stationed there and haven't yet been redeployed. Daniel Balazs, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, is a specialist in Sino-Indian relations and joins Eric to discuss what's motivating the two countries to negotiate a border settlement. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 18 Jun 2024 | Taking Stock of China's Diplomatic Surge in the Persian Gulf | 00:43:23 | |
Even just a few years ago, it would have stretched credulity to argue that China was a major diplomatic player in the Persian Gulf. Today, that is no longer the case as Beijing is fast becoming one of the key actors in the region. China is now the largest energy buyer from Gulf countries, it was instrumental in the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Beijing has become a forceful advocate for the Palestinian cause at the UN and other major international fora. A new book, "A Dragon's Odyssey: China's Rise in the Gulf" charts China's trajectory in the Persian Gulf and how it's become a major player in the region in a relatively short period of time. The book's three authors, Zeno Leoni, Ahmed Aboudouh, and Carlotta Rinaudo, join Eric to discuss how China's rise in the Gulf coincides with perceptions of a U.S. retreat. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 24 Mar 2024 | Chinese EV Brands Want to Dominate Global South Auto Markets | 00:43:31 | |
Enthusiasm for electric vehicles is waning in both the U.S. and China, but that is definitely not the case in other parts of the world where EV adoption rates are steadily rising. In fact, at the Bangkok Motor Show this week, Chinese EV brands are grabbing all of the attention. Throughout the Global South, Chinese EV brands are expanding their presence in both manufacturing and sales. And unlike U.S.-made EVs that are largely expensive luxury vehicles, the Chinese brands are focusing on small, affordable cars that are within the price range of consumers in Asia, Africa and Latin America, among other places. Lei Xing, a longtime China automotive journalist and host of the China EVs & More Podcast, joins Eric to discuss why Chinese automakers are looking to developing countries to drive EV sales. SHOW NOTES:
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| 25 Dec 2024 | [DOUBLE EPISODE] 2024 China-Africa Year in Review | 01:28:46 | |
2024 will be remembered as a seminal year in China-Africa relations with a rebound of Chinese lending to the continent and renewed diplomatic engagement in the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that took place in Beijing. Africa also emerged again as a centerpiece in the U.S.-China duel as leaders from both major powers visited the continent in 2024. And while stakeholders in the U.S. and Europe struggle to get their businesses to see the opportunities available in Africa, Chinese firms have no such concerns as they expanded their presence this year in the mining, telecom, and automotive sectors. In this year-end double episode, Eric, Cobus, & Géraud share their top three China-Africa stories of 2024 and provide a forecast for what to expect in the year ahead. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 12 Nov 2024 | Gauging the Impact of a Second Trump Presidency on U.S.-China Relations in the Middle East | 02:05:20 | |
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has already indicated that the Middle East is going to be a central focus of his second term's foreign policy. He's already named Elise Stefanik, a fiercely pro-Israel lawmaker, to be his ambassador at the United Nations and he's been in regular contact since his election last week with both Arab and Israeli leaders. But Trump is coming back to power at a time when the region is very different than when he left office in 2020. Back then, China was a marginal player in Mideast diplomacy which is no longer the case. China's economic and diplomatic influence in the region has increased significantly over the past four years. In this special edition, produced in partnership with The ChinaMed Project, Eric hosts six of the world's leading China-Mideast scholars to discuss their forecast for how Donald Trump's re-election will impact U.S.-China relations in the region. The conversation is divided into two parts: Panel 1: How the arrival of a new U.S. President fits in the national strategies of regional actors and their relations with China
Panel 2: How a new US President will/might shape US-China relations in the Middle East
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| 07 Jan 2025 | Why Views About China Are So Different in the Global North and South | 00:57:07 | |
China is deeply unpopular in the U.S., UK, Japan, and most other wealthy countries, and given the politics in those regions, there's no indication that's going to change anytime soon. It's a very different story, though, in large parts of developing Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East where public opinion surveys reveal generally favorable views of the Chinese. A new "poll of polls" by the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) on global public opinion about China reveals a lot more nuance about how people in the Global South feel about their countries' ties with China than what is framed in the mainstream media narratives. Andrew Chubb, a senior fellow at ASPI, led the project and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what the data tells us about the diversity of views on China across the Global South. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 05 Aug 2024 | Westlessness: A New Era Where the West Still Matters, Just Not as Much | 00:51:30 | |
Chinese President Xi Jinping has long touted the East's rise and the West's decline, the kind of thinking that's triggered his supporters to fantasize about a post-Western geopolitical order. While it's indisputable that U.S. and European countries, which represent the foundational pillars of the Western system, have seen their power diminish in the post-Cold War era, there's little credible evidence of a full-blown collapse of Western influence. Instead, King's College scholar Samir Puri argues in his new book "Westlessness," that the role of the West in the international system is changing and not going away. Samir joins Eric & Cobus from London to discuss the emergence of a new, less Western global order. Show Notes: JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 25 Dec 2024 | View From Israel: China's Once Tidy Mideast Policy Now Upended | 00:43:31 | |
A few months ago, China looked like it had all its Mideast diplomacy figured out. Israel and the U.S. were taking heavy hits in the court of global public opinion over the devastation caused by the war in Gaza. Each harrowing image of Palestinian civilians enduring unimaginable suffering steadily undermined U.S. and Israeli claims that their war against Hamas was justified. Beijing eagerly criticized Washington’s hypocrisy in championing universal human rights—except when it came to Israel, the U.S. military, and other selective American interests. But now that Israel has decapitated Hamas' leadership in Gaza and Hezbollah's in Lebanon, and with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad now exiled to Russia, the geopolitical landscape in the region looks very different. Tuvia Gering, a longtime China-Israel analyst and a cyber threat intelligence analyst at the Tel Aviv-based cyber security start-up Planet Nine, joins Eric & CGSP Middle East Editor Jony Essa to discuss how China's position in the region is seen from Israel. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social Tuvia Gering on Bluesky: @geringtuvia.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON!
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| 08 Apr 2025 | China and the New World Trade War | 00:57:19 | |
U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that he will not back down from his massive tariff campaign that he launched last week and even promised to impose even higher duties on Chinese goods in response to Beijing's 34% tariff retaliation on U.S. imported goods. Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and author of the High Capacity Substack, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the impact of the escalating world trade war on developing countries and how China is responding by shifting more manufacturing to the Global South. Show Notes:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 26 Aug 2024 | View From Israel: China's Growing Influence in the Middle East | 00:33:26 | |
In September 2023, just weeks before Hamas' devastating terrorist attack on October 7th, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his foreign policy advisors were preparing for a summit meeting in China with President Xi Jinping. There were even whispers Beijing would help facilitate a rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia much as it did between Riyadh and Tehran. Now, almost a year later, everything has changed. Sino-Israeli political ties have soured as China aligned with the Arab world and the rest of the Global South in opposition to Israel's war on Gaza. However, while China's standing in Israel has fallen since October 7th, it surged across the rest of the Middle East as more countries in the region regard Beijing as an emerging alternative to the United States. Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations at Reichman University, and Research Analyst Allie Weinberger, tracked China's Mideast power trajectory in a new article published by the Australian Security Policy Institute. Gedaliah and Allie join Eric to discuss what's behind China's growing influence in the Mideast. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 27 May 2024 | What's Driving the Surge in Brazil's Business Ties With China | 00:48:45 | |
BYD announced that it opened its 100th dealership in Brazil, highlighting the South American country's growing importance to the Chinese electric vehicle giant. It's a similar story across the board in tech, agriculture, and natural resources, among other sectors. Trade and investment between China and Brazil is booming and is unlikely to slow anytime soon. Tulio Cariello, director of content and research at the Brazil-China Business Council joins Eric & Cobus from Rio de Janeiro to explain how Brazil is benefitting a lot from Beijing's souring ties with Washington. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 25 Sep 2024 | China's Response to the Wars in the Middle East | 00:48:13 | |
The rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon prompted a strong reaction from the Chinese government this week. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday at the UN in New York and condemned Israel's actions as “indiscriminate attacks against civilians." It's notable, though, that neither Wang nor other Chinese officials made any mention of Hezbollah's missile strikes on targets in Israel, including those that hit civilian areas. The deteriorating security environment in the Middle East is a critical time for China, which is transitioning from a strategy of "hedging" to one that is increasingly focused on "wedging." Jonathan Fulton and Michael Schuman, senior nonresident scholars at The Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new report on China's Mideast strategy and Beijing's new regional priorities. SHOW NOTES:
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| 10 Sep 2024 | Economic Giants Align: Brazil's Growing Partnership with China | 01:00:42 | |
2024 has been a pivotal year for Brazil-China relations. Last month marked 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, and in celebration of this milestone, President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Brazil by the end of the year. This visit comes as economic ties between the two countries are booming. Bilateral trade is on track to surpass last year’s $157 billion, and recent data shows Chinese investment in Brazil jumped by 33% in 2023. Beyond economics, Presidents Xi Jinping and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva share similar ideological views on key global issues, posing a growing challenge to U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere. This week, South China Morning Post correspondent Igor Patrick and Thiago Bessimo, co-founder of the Portuguese-language site Observa China, join Eric to unpack the deepening Brazil-China relationship and its global implications. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 26 Jun 2024 | The Crisis in the South China Sea Enters a Dangerous New Phase | 00:40:05 | |
The violent confrontation between China and the Philippines on June 17th near the Second Thomas Shoal marked a sharp escalation in tensions between the two countries over their rival territorial claims in the South China Sea. After the melee that severely injured one Filipino sailor, the two countries engaged in a second battle, this time in the media, to shape the narrative of what happened and where this burgeoning crisis goes from here. Alex Vuving, a professor at the Pentagon-backed think tank Asia-Pacific Security Studies Center in Honolulu, joins Eric to discuss why the events of June 17th have prompted Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to recalibrate his strategy. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: JOIN US ON PATREON! | |||
| 18 Apr 2023 | U.S.-China Technology Competition in the Global South | 00:51:23 | |
The U.S. and China are waging a hard-fought battle today for dominance of global technology standards, particularly in emerging sectors like 5G mobile telecommunications. While China's access to markets in advanced economies is increasingly limited, tech companies like Huawei, ZTE, and Bytedance are rapidly expanding in the Global South. But the U.S. Congress is adamant to try and limit China's expansion in developing markets by effectively telling countries if you want to work with the U.S., then you can't use Chinese tech. John Lee is closely following this unfolding competition from Berlin where he's a director at the technology consulting firm East West Futures. John joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what developing countries need to do to avoid becoming collateral damage in the expanding U.S.-China tech duel. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @J_B_C16 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject | |||
| 07 Jun 2023 | If You Lead a Developing Country and Want to Borrow Money From China, Then Listen to This Podcast | 00:49:54 | |
The days of China easily handing out billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries around the world are now over. The Chinese can't afford it anymore and many of the borrowing countries just don't have the capacity to take on more debt. But that doesn't mean the Chinese aren't lending anymore. They are. It's just that the projects they finance today are either small -- below $50 million -- or "beautiful" -- support local communities and align with certain Chinese political objectives. Edwin Li, a Beijing-based project finance attorney for the international law firm Dentons, detailed these new lending priorities in a recent article and joins Eric & Cobus to explain why it's critical that borrowing countries clearly understand what China does and doesn't fund. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@edwinzhiguoli Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 10 Oct 2023 | Michael Pettis Explains How China's Changing Economy Will Impact the World | 01:11:25 | |
China's economy emerged from the pandemic much weaker than before. Unemployment is up, exports are down and a burgeoning property crisis is having a devastating impact on local government finances. These changes in the economy are happening very fast, so quickly that's it difficult for experts to keep pace with what's happening, much less among those who don't closely follow Chinese economic trends -- particularly in developing countries. Michael Pettis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is one of the world's foremost scholars on the Chinese economy. He joins Eric this week to discuss how the dramatic changes that are now taking place in China will impact countries throughout the Global South. SHOW NOTES: Amazon: Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace: https://amzn.to/46Iiqel JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @michaelxpettis Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 26 Sep 2023 | How China's Economic Slowdown Impacts Developing Countries | 00:52:51 | |
The Chinese economy is in trouble. Exports, manufacturing output, and investment are all down. Unemployment, particularly among young people is up. Provincial debt is now at a record $8 trillion while a burgeoning property crisis has eliminated a once reliable source of revenue for local governments. The financial difficulties that China is now experiencing have direct implications on dozens, if not hundreds of developing countries around the world that have come to rely on Chinese demand to bolster their own economies. Lizzi Li, an economist and reporter at the Chinese language television network Wall Street TV, joins Eric & Cobus from New York to discuss what's behind the economic slowdown in China and why it's critical that policymakers and other stakeholders in the Global South learn quickly how to adapt to the new economic realities that are taking shape. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @wstv_lizzi Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth | |||
| 27 Sep 2022 | Why the U.S. And Israel Are Not Aligned on China | 00:57:10 | |
Israel and China are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement that both sides say will be done before the end of the year. This may come as a surprise to some given how relations between the two countries have been a bit rocky this past year over issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, and pressure from the U.S. But Israeli officials have made it clear to the U.S. that while they understand why Beijing makes them nervous, the Jewish State simply does not share those same concerns. Alexander Pevzner, an adjunct lecturer at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy at Reichman University near Tel Aviv, joins Eric & Cobus to provide an update on the current state of Sino-Israeli ties and why the U.S. and Israel are not fully aligned when it comes to China. CORRECTION: In this episode, Eric stated there are now direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Israel which is not correct. Instead, the two countries agreed that Saudi Arabia would open its airspace to flights to/from Israel. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @abevzner Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 09 May 2023 | China's Confusing, Contradictory Policy on Coal Power | 00:46:30 | |
In September 2021, President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations that China would immediately halt all financing of coal power projects abroad as part of Beijing's broader ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Since then, the Chinese government has fulfilled that pledge, terminating coal power plant financing deals in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and other countries. But at home, China's policy on coal is very different. In fact, this year alone, the Chinese have approved more than 20gw of new coal power production in just the first three months of the year, more than all of 2021 combined. Christoph Nedopil Wang, an associate professor at Fudan University and one of the world's leading scholars in Chinese green development finance, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss this striking contradiction in Chinese policy on coal and why China does one thing abroad but another at home. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nedopil Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 15 Mar 2023 | What to Make of China's Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough? | 00:59:14 | |
New details are emerging about the landmark diplomatic deal brokered by China for Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations. The initial excitement about the prospects for peace between these two Persian Gulf rivals has given way to a more sober assessment that effectively says the agreement is a good first step but that's about it. The key test is going to be whether both sides are going to pull back from their proxy fights in places like Yemen. Until that's done, it's still too early to be overly optimistic. But what does this all say about China's emergence as a key diplomatic power broker? Tuvia Gehring, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, and Jacinto Scito, a policy fellow at the London-based Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, are two of the world's foremost scholars on China-Mideast relations and join Eric & Cobus to discuss their reactions to the deal and what it means for China and the wider Middle East. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @geringtuvia | @jacoposcita Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 16 Mar 2023 | What Lessons Should the U.S. Take From China's Mideast Diplomatic Breakthrough? | 00:18:39 | |
This month's surprise announcement that China brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia prompted widespread excitement in Beijing and considerable consternation among U.S. conservatives. The implication for both is that China's role in the process symbolized the decline of U.S. influence in the region. Not so says Mohammed Soliman, one of the leading Arab political analysts in Washington, D.C. based at the Middle East Institute and also a manager at McLarty Associates Middle East North Africa Program. Mohammed joins Eric to explain why he thinks the U.S. should not overreact and what lessons policymakers should take from what happened. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @thisissoliman Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 16 Sep 2022 | Introducing the New China-Global South Podcast | 01:11:13 | |
Every week, The China-Global South Podcast will explore timely issues surrounding China's engagement in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and other developing regions. Hosted by China-Global South Editor in Chief Eric Olander in Vietnam and Managing Editor Cobus van Staden in South Africa, this new program will highlight insights and ideas from leading experts in the Global South. To help kick off the show, Eric & Cobus are joined by Kaiser Kuo, host of the venerable Sinica Podcast, to discuss what motivated the team to launch this new program and what they're hoping it will achieve. THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ERIC:
COBUS:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @kaiserkuo Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 16 Jan 2023 | Pepe Zhang on What to Expect This Year in China-Latin America Relations | 00:47:26 | |
China's two-way trade with countries in the Americas increased 8% last year to $486 billion, nearly twice the volume of what China does in Africa. South America is now a vital source of food, energy, and strategic minerals for China, while markets like Brazil are attracting record amounts of Chinese investment. Meantime, China's growing presence in Latin America and the Caribbean region is also making the U.S. increasingly uncomfortable given that many people in Washington, D.C. still believe that the Western hemisphere remains America's traditional sphere of influence. But despite China's enormous economic engagement in the region and the geopolitical concerns in the U.S., Pepe Zhang, a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council and one of DC's top China-Americas watchers, contends that China's surging influence is still not getting the attention that it deserves. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to explain why. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @pepe_zhang Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 18 Oct 2022 | Despite Huge Problems, Pakistan Remains Indispensable to China | 01:01:23 | |
It has been a difficult year for China in Pakistan. A burgeoning economic crisis in the South Asian country threatens to undermine the multibillion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor development initiative while anti-Chinese terrorism has surged in recent months. But amid these serious challenges, there's no indication that ties between Beijing and Islamabad have strained. Ammar Malik, a senior research scientist at AidData, closely follows Sino-Pakistani relations and joins Eric & Cobus to explain why this relationship is so durable. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @malikammar Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 01 Aug 2023 | Is China Setting the Agenda for Global South Debt Restructuring? | 00:53:18 | |
In June, Zambia reached what's been described as a landmark debt restructuring deal that for the first time brought together the country's bilateral creditors including China, traditional Paris Club lenders and bondholders. While the deal is no doubt unprecedented, it also reveals that China was very effective in successful in getting the parties to agree to many of its demands. Matt Mingey, a senior analyst at the consultancy Rhodium Group, is among the world's foremost experts on Chinese lending and debt issues. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss whether China is, in fact, setting the agenda for debt restructurings in the Global South. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@mattmingey Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 27 Jun 2023 | A Primer on the Escalating Tensions in the South China Sea | 00:51:01 | |
The South China Sea is one of the world's most strategically vital maritime zones where more than $5 trillion of trade passes through each year -- a whopping 60% of the globe's total maritime commerce. It's also the epicenter of an increasingly contentious geopolitical dispute among more than half a dozen countries over territorial boundaries and who ultimately controls this enormous body of water. Chinese sovereignty claims over the whole of the South China Sea have provoked furious responses from its regional neighbors and sparked a dangerous duel with the U.S. and other major navies over continued freedom of navigation through the area. Ray Powell, a former U.S. Air Force colonel, tracks the maneuvers of ships and other vessels operating in the South China Sea on a daily basis as the team lead for Stanford University's Project Myoushu. Ray joins Eric & Cobus from Palo Alto to break down the different territorial claims and why this burgeoning maritime conflict is so incredibly important. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@gordianknotray Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 18 Oct 2023 | China's Dominance of the EV Battery Metal Supply Chain | 01:00:25 | |
Chilean President Gabriel Boric oversaw the signing of a $233 million lithium deal with Chinese mining giant Tsingshan Holding Group, the latest investment that solidifies China's dominance of the fiercely contested EV battery metal supply chain. In just the past few months alone, Chinese firms have moved quickly to lock up similar mining and processing deals in Morocco, Nigeria, Bolivia, and Zimbabwe, among other countries. Henry Sanderson, executive editor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, joins Eric & Geraud to discuss these latest deals and what the implications are for G7 countries that are looking to build alternate non-Chinese supply chains for critical resources. SHOW NOTES: Amazon: Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green by Henry Sanderson: https://a.co/d/7kDJxds JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hjesanderson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-sanderson-9889297 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 20 Sep 2022 | Navigating the Belt & Road in SE Asia With a New Digital Toolkit | 00:57:53 | |
October marks the 9th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and after all these years, nearly a decade later, many people around the world are still trying to figure out what exactly the BRI is. What is certain, though, is that China has pulled back considerably on BRI-related financing in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa and the Americas. But in Asia, it's a different story. Chinese lenders are still plowing billions of dollars to build badly-needed infrastructure and that prompted the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) to try and help stakeholders on all sides with a new BRI digital tool kit. Blake Berger, ASPI associate director, was on the team that built the new toolkit and joins Eric and Cobus to explain what it is and how it's intended to be used. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @blakehberger Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 06 Dec 2022 | Why U.S. Diplomacy is Struggling to Compete With China in the Global South | 01:00:52 | |
40 countries around the world currently do not have U.S. ambassadors. The corner offices have been empty for months, even years at U.S. embassies in major regional powers like India and Saudia Arabia. Even Italy, a G7 country, doesn't have a U.S. ambassador in place. The hold-up in getting ambassadors confirmed by the Senate is the consequence of Washington's dysfunctional politics that's adversely impacting the U.S. and its effort to compete with China for influence around the world, particularly in developing countries. Politico's Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nahal Toosi traveled to Panama earlier this year to report on how U.S. diplomacy is struggling to keep up with China's engagement in the region. She joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss her special report on the issue. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nahaltoosi Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 18 Sep 2023 | The Downward Spiral of China-India Relations | 00:50:39 | |
There was a glimmer of hope last month that China and India would pull back from their increasingly contentious standoff when military commanders concluded talks along their disputed border on a somewhat optimistic note. The hope was that these talks would pave the way for leaders from both countries to meet while they were together at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did meet briefly in South Africa but it did nothing to stall the downward spiral in relations between the two Asian powers. Ananth Krishnan, an associate editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi and one of the foremost experts on Sino-Indian relations, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why ties have soured so badly and what to expect going forward. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ananthkrishnan Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth | |||
| 11 Jul 2023 | Bases, Training and Weapon Sales: Latest Trends in China-Africa Military Ties | 00:48:23 | |
Three Chinese warships made ports of call in Ghana and Nigeria this month, prompting a new wave of speculation about Beijing's military ambitions in Africa. The PLA Navy visit followed reports that Chinese miners in the Central African Republic were rescued by a group of Russian mercenaries which also triggered questions as to whether the controversial Wagner Group is now working more closely with Chinese entities on the continent. All of this is set against a backdrop of increasingly close military-to-military ties between the PLA and their counterparts in Africa. Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C., is among the foremost experts on Chinese military engagement on the continent. He joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his latest research on the increasingly close ties between Chinese and African militaries for training and education which are also closely linked to increased Chinese weapons sales. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@pnantulya Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 15 Aug 2023 | Pivot to Asia: Why the Near Abroad is Now China's Top Priority | 01:01:50 | |
For much of the past 20 years, China sought to radically expand its presence beyond its traditional spheres of influence to new regions in Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. China lent billions to countries in these regions and devoted considerable diplomatic capital to building political influence there as well. But now, in this new era of Great Power competition with the United States and Europe, China is once again shifting its focus, this time closer to home in Asia. Its so-called "near abroad" is now by far the most consequential region for China both in terms of trade and, increasingly, new security challenges. Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute and a visiting senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, is one of the world's leading experts on China's relations in Central Asia and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why this region, in particular, is now so important to Beijing. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@raffpantucci | @chinaeurasia Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject | |||
| 07 Nov 2023 | Chinese Infrastructure Projects in Africa Don't Meet ESG Standards | 01:08:48 | |
Two years ago, China introduced a series of new so-called "green guidelines" that it hoped would promote more sustainable development abroad. But in Africa, according to a new research report, it appears those higher environmental, social, and governance (ESG) have been difficult to meet. Researchers from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, the Fudan University Green Finance and Development Center, the South African Institute of International Affairs, and LSE IDEAS teamed up to examine ESG standards at five Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Two of the scholars on that team, Cecilia Han Springer and Christoph Nedopil, join Cobus (who also contributed to the research) to discuss their findings and explain why Chinese companies continue to struggle to meet minimum ESG standards in Africa. SHOW NOTES: Read the full report: Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa: https://bit.ly/46ZHL4d JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nedopil | @han_cecilia Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 21 Jun 2023 | China's Fanciful Dream to Play Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaker | 00:49:33 | |
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a visit to Beijing last week where he heard lofty promises from Chinese officials about their desire to mediate a settlement with Israel. While the visit made for some good headlines, the chances of China jump-starting the stalled peace process are close to zero. Tuvia Gering, a leading China watcher in Israel and a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Jerusalem, and Jony Essa, CGSP's Arabic Editor, join Eric and Cobus to discuss the key takeaways from the Abbas visit and explain why China is not well-positioned to broker a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander |@geringtuvia Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 12 Sep 2023 | BRI @ 10: Lessons From Cambodia About Chinese Investment | 00:50:49 | |
China's Belt and Road Initiative marked its 10th anniversary this month, prompting a lot of discussion about what's next for Beijing's controversial development agenda. While BRI spending in Africa and the Americas has plummeted in recent years that is not the case closer to home in Southeast Asia. Cambodia, in particular, stands apart from other countries in terms of its growing dependence on Chinese economic engagement -- both from government-backed BRI projects and private investors who have transformed major cities like Sihanoukville (not always for the better). Wang Yuan, an assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University, and Linda Calabrese, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, published a paper last month that examined China's hugely important economic presence in Cambodia and join Eric & Cobus to discuss what lessons other developing countries can learn from Phnom Penh's experience. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @lindacalab Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 14 Nov 2023 | Chinese Overseas Investment: Which Countries Will Benefit Most? | 00:51:12 | |
Amid a slowing economy at home, more Chinese companies are now looking to invest abroad in search of higher returns. While there's been a lot of hope in recent years that some of that money would find its way to Africa and other less-developed regions, that's not happening. Instead, Chinese companies are investing in countries closer to home in Asia, according to Chim Lee, a China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Chim joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss the latest trends in Chinese overseas FDI and why Chinese companies are focusing more attention on "de-risking" their investments. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @chimxlee Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 28 Aug 2023 | China and the Politics of Global Climate Diplomacy | 00:55:47 | |
The failure of G20 countries last month to agree on a plan to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 highlights a key problem in the ongoing debate over how to respond to climate change: the institutions that are designed to help solve this problem are failing. It's not clear what China's role was in that debate at the G20 but elsewhere Beijing's actions on combatting climate change are somewhat contradictory. While China is by far the world's leader in renewable energy and green transportation, it's also the world's largest polluter, thanks in part to its reliance on coal power. This week, Byron Tsang, a London-based senior policy advisor at the independent climate change think tank E3G and Madhura Joshi, a senior research associate for E3G in Mumbai, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of global climate diplomacy. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @madhurajoshi23 | @byfordt LinkedIn:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 20 Dec 2022 | New Report Debunks Chinese Debt Trap Narrative in Sri Lanka | 01:03:39 | |
The Chinese debt trap narrative was started based on the purported surrender of the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. When Colombo fell behind in its payments to the China Exim Bank for the loan, the story goes, Beijing seized the port as collateral. Now, six years later, a pair of Sri Lankan researchers, Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala gained access to the original China Exim Bank loan documents for the port and confirmed that the Chinese predatory lending narrative, as it's been told, just isn't true. The pair join Eric & Cobus to discuss their new report that debunks many of the myths surrounding Chinese lending to Sri Lanka, specifically related to the controversial port. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @UmeshMoramudali | @ThilinaKalhara Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 25 May 2023 | Key Lessons From Indonesia's China-Backed Mining & Infrastructure Ventures | 00:48:46 | |
Indonesia is a pioneer among developing countries for its efforts in moving up the EV battery metal value chain. Whereas most other countries like the DR Congo and Chile export raw commodities that are processed elsewhere, Indonesia now requires all of the nickel mined in the country to be processed locally. But just as in the DRC where the Chinese dominate the cobalt mining sector, a similar dynamic is now playing out in Indonesia. CGSP's Southeast Asia Antonia Timmerman joins Eric & Cobus from Jakarta to talk about China's controversial role in the Indonesian mining business plus how a new Chinese-backed high-speed railway is generating more concern than excitement. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @timmerman91 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 12 Dec 2023 | China @ COP28: Victim or Villain? | 00:50:21 | |
This year's COP28 gathering is wrapping up in Dubai and it turned out to be the most controversial climate conference in years where China was at the center of many of the most contentious discussions on how to mitigate the impact of global warming. China's positions at the conference were difficult to decipher. Chinese negotiators positioned themselves as a still developing country that's suffering the consequences of climate change while at the same time aligning many of their critical votes at COP28 with the fossil fuel-producing countries. Anika Patel, a China analyst at the online news site Carbon Brief, covered the Chinese delegation at COP28 in Dubai and joins Eric & Cobus to share of her insights into China's approach to climate politics at the conference. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @_an_patel Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 04 Oct 2023 | The Future of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America | 00:57:37 | |
There's growing anxiety in the United States over China's expanding presence in the Latin America-Caribbean (LAC) region. Last week, a Congressional subcommittee held another breathless hearing that warned of the dangers of "Communism on our shores." That concern in Washington is based, in part, on surging Chinese trade with LAC countries, more investment, and a growing ideological alignment with Beijing's worldview among many of the region's largest countries. LAC countries are also key destinations for Chinese-backed infrastructure projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. But contrary to the simplistic narratives in Washington about Chinese engagement in Latin America, Bruno Binetti, a China Foresight Associate at LSE Ideas and a non-resident fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, says the region's ties with Beijing are undergoing profound change. Bruno joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to explain how. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @binettibruno LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brunobinetti Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth | |||
| 25 Oct 2022 | The U.S-China Battle For Ideas in the Global South | 01:03:40 | |
Both the United States and China have restructured their respective foreign policy establishments in recent years to be better poised to confront each other. In the just concluded 20th Party Congress in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping clearly telegraphed a more aggressive stance towards his U.S. rivals. The U.S. articulated much the same in its latest National Security Strategy released in October that clearly named China as its "most consequential geopolitical challenge.” Jake Werner, a research fellow in the East Asia program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, D.C., joins Eric & Cobus to discuss how this rivalry is playing out in the developing world where a battle for ideas is now underway. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jwdwerner Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 11 Oct 2022 | China and India's Steadily Deteriorating Relationship | 00:54:14 | |
It wasn't that long ago that many people thought the longtime rivalry between India and China had begun to subside. In fact, Xi Jinping traveled to India in 2019, his second visit as president, for a profile, seemingly amicable summit with Narendra Modi. But a lot can change in three years. Today, ties between the two Asian giants are bad and getting worse. Both countries are locked in a bitter stand-off along their disputed border high above in the Himalayas and are engaged in seemingly daily disputes over trade, technology, and geopolitical issues. And experts like The Hindu newspaper's China correspondent Ananth Krishnan contend there's no indication the situation is going to improve anytime soon. Ananth joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to explain why ties between these two countries have soured so much. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Amazon: India's China Challenge: A Journey through China's Rise and What It Means for India by Ananth Krishnan: https://amzn.to/3yv3f9M Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ananthkrishnan Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 04 Apr 2023 | What China's Past Tells Us About the Future of its Foreign Policy in Asia | 00:54:27 | |
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim both wrapped up state visits to China last week and their discussions with President Xi Jinping revealed some fascinating linkages between contemporary Chinese foreign policy objectives and Beijing's historical perception of its role as Asia's central power. Antoine Roth, an international relations scholar at Tohoku University in Japan explores those themes in his new book "A Hierarchical Vision of Order: Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy in Asia." He joins Eric & Cobus from Sendai to discuss what lessons can be drawn from China's diplomatic history in Asia that can inform a better understanding of contemporary trends in Chinese foreign policy in other parts of the world. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @antoineroth Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 20 Jun 2022 | China's New Ambitions in the South Pacific | 00:37:50 | |
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent South Pacific tour put the region in play as the latest venue for Great Power political rivalries. But even though the ten Pacific Island Countries (PIC) are among the smallest in the world, they came together as a block and dealt Wang a very rare diplomatic defeat when they rebuffed his wide-ranging security and development proposal. Tim Bryar, founder and editor of the blog Oceania Hypothesis, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why China is now so keen on expanding its influence in the South Pacific and how he thinks the legacy powers in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia will respond. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @timbryar Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW THE CHINA-GLOBAL SOUTH PROJECT IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 22 Nov 2022 | A Look Back on a Week of Intense Chinese Diplomacy in Southeast Asia | 00:56:46 | |
Chinese President returned home from a week of intense diplomacy in Indonesia and Thailand where he attended a pair of summits and held more than a dozen bilaterals with other international leaders. Both the G20 Summit in Bali and the subsequent APEC leaders summit in Bangkok served as the first time the President was back on the international stage with some of his Western rivals since the beginning of the pandemic. Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, joins Eric & Cobus to share his views on President Xi's performance and to review what was accomplished at the various summits that took place in Southeast Asia over the past couple of weeks. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @collinslkoh Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 30 Mar 2023 | China's Lending Money Again to Countries in the Americas | 00:43:10 | |
Chinese lending to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean is gaining momentum. For the second year in a row, China's two largest policy banks have increased lending to countries in the region, albeit in much smaller amounts than what they did a decade ago. At the same time, there's word that China has spent close to a quarter trillion dollars over the past twenty years to bail out dozens of countries struggling to stay afloat under the weight of such much debt. Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., and Rebecca Ray, two of the world's leading experts in Chinese overseas development finance, joins Eric to discuss how these two seemingly divergent trends actually align with one another and why the Americas is emerging as a key market for Chinese creditors. SHOW NOTES:
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| 23 Dec 2022 | The 2022 Africa-China Year in Review With Gyude Moore | 01:08:55 | |
Chinese trade with Africa is widely expected to break yet another record in 2022, while Chinese lending to countries across the continent fell again. Meantime, African leaders this year also forcefully pushed back against both the U.S. and China to avoid becoming collateral damage in their escalating great power struggle. It was an eventful year indeed for Africa-China relations. Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and a prominent African international affairs analyst, joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to reflect on the year's key milestones. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @gyude_moore Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 22 Mar 2023 | Reporting Tips for African Journalists Covering China | 01:14:05 | |
Reporting on China is difficult even for the most experienced journalist who's spent years living there and speaks the language. So, it's not surprising that reporters in Africa who've had limited exposure to the country often struggle to cover China-related news. In this special episode produced in conjunction with the Africa-China Reporting Project (ACRP) at Wits University in Johannesburg, Eric is joined by veteran China Watcher, Kaiser Kuo, founder and host of the popular Sinica podcast, to discuss how African journalists can improve their reporting on China. The interview with Kaiser was recorded during a live online workshop hosted by ACRP Project Coordinator Bongiwe Tutu that included questions from African journalists who participated in the event. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @kaiserkuo | @sinicapodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 21 Nov 2023 | China's Response to the Israel-Hamas War | 01:02:22 | |
Prior to the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel, China had positioned itself as a new power broker in the Middle East. Chinese officials were brimming with confidence after they finalized a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia earlier this year, hinting they could do the same in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But in the wake of a full-scale war that's now underway, those same Chinese officials are much more circumspect. In this week's episode, CGSP Middle East Editor Jony Essa and Eric speak with three of the world's leading China-Mideast scholars to discuss China's response to the war between Israel and Hamas. First, Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, and Jonathan Fulton, associate professor of political science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, discuss how the war has impacted China's foreign policy towards Israel and Persian Gulf countries. Then, Bill Figueroa, one of the world's foremost experts on China-Iran relations at the University of Groningen, joins the conversation to talk about whether Beijing can leverage its influence with Iran to sway Hamas. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 07 Mar 2023 | Latin America Was Once an Afterthought for China... Not Anymore | 00:51:04 | |
In just the past twenty years, China's trade with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean surged 26-fold to almost half-a-trillion dollars. The region is also now a major destination for Chinese foreign investment and becoming a critically important new front in China's geopolitical confrontation with the United States. While there's no dispute that China is now a major player in the region, knowledge about Chinese engagement in the Americas nonetheless remains surprisingly low, particularly among key stakeholders in Latin America. A new book, China and Latin America: Development, Agency and Geopolitics by two scholars at the London School of Economics (LSE) aims to change that. Álvaro Méndez, director of LSE's Global South Unit and International Relations Professor Chris Alden join Eric & Cobus to discuss why the Americas is now central to China's global strategy. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @alvaroimendez Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 13 Dec 2022 | Bad Takes: What the News Media Got Wrong About Xi's Trip to Saudi Arabia | 00:49:46 | |
So much of the international news coverage of Xi Jinping's three-day visit last week to Saudi Arabia was framed in the context of the broader U.S.-China rivalry. The Saudis and other Arab states, according to the prevailing narrative, were pivoting away from their decades-long relationship with the U.S. to embrace China. But suggesting that some kind of grand geopolitical realignment is taking place in the Middle East is just wrong says Jonathan Fulton, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and one of the world's foremost scholars on China-Mideast relations. Jonathan joins Eric & Cobus from Abu Dhabi to explain why journalists should have instead focused more attention on the strategic interests of individual Arab countries. Show Notes:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jonathandfulton Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 16 Feb 2023 | China, Latin America, and the Rise of a New Non-Aligned Movement | 00:53:32 | |
During the first Cold War, a large group of developing countries sought to distance themselves from the ideological battle between the United States and the Soviet Union to create a Non-Aligned Movement. Today, three decades later, at the dawn of yet another Great Power competition, this time between the U.S. and China, Global South countries are once again saying they don't want any part of it. Jorge Heine, a former Chilean ambassador to China and now a research professor at Boston University joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the new book he co-edited about how this new movement is taking root in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Show Notes:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @jorgeheinel Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine | |||
| 29 Nov 2023 | China Benefits as Israel-Hamas War Undermines West's Standing in Global South | 00:41:46 | |
There's mounting concern in the U.S. and Europe that their global reputations, particularly in developing countries, will be among the latest casualties of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In the Global South, anger is rising against the West over what is perceived to be a double standard by the West's unconditional support of Israel even as it bombs civilian neighborhoods in Gaza while at the same time lecturing other countries, namely Russia, for violating the rules of war when it does the same. CGSP Southeast Asia Editor Antonia Timmerman joins Eric & Cobus from Jakarta to discuss how all of this plays into China's larger campaign to challenge the Western-led rules-based international order. SHOW NOTES: Read Antonia's latest column on Explaining Indonesia’s Different Responses To Palestine, Xinjiang, and Myanmar’s Rohingya: https://tinyurl.com/3da3jea6 JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @timmerman91 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 01 Feb 2023 | What's Driving the Steady Decline in Chinese Overseas Development Lending? | 00:49:51 | |
There was a time when Chinese lending to developing countries rivaled the World Bank. Those days are now long gone as Chinese overseas development lending has been on a steady downward trajectory. New data from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center (GDPC) reports that in 2020-2021, China granted just 28 loan commitments worth just $10.5 billion -- a small fraction of what was lent in the early 2010s. Rebecca Ray, a senior researcher at GDPC, and Tarela Moses, a data analyst at the center's Global China Initiative join Eric from Boston to discuss the latest trends in Chinese development finance and specifically why Beijing has become much more risk-averse. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @tarelamoses | @bubeckyray Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 29 Nov 2022 | Can China's Surveillance State Governance Model Be Exported Abroad? | 01:10:05 | |
China has built the world's largest and most intrusive surveillance system to monitor the behavior of its people. Millions of cameras, vast databases, and sophisticated online filters work together to form a seemingly omnipresent matrix that overwatches every aspect of daily life. While China may have pioneered the use of many of these new technologies, today, they are by no means alone. In fact, Chinese companies are now bringing their technology and surveillance expertise to countries around the world -- particularly in the Global South. Wall Street Journal reporters Liza Lin and Josh Chin, authors of the new book Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the appeal of China's surveillance technology and how much of Beijing's model can be replicated in other developing countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @joshchin | @lizalinwsj Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 13 Apr 2023 | The Risks and Rewards of China's New Mideast Diplomacy | 00:55:08 | |
When China announced in March that it had brokered a landmark agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties, it took a lot of people by surprise. They just didn't see it coming. But now, a month later, it appears that the deal is solid. Just last week, the foreign ministers from both countries reconvened in Beijing to finalize the pact and begin the process of reconciliation. While all of this is very encouraging, William Figueroa, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics and one of the world's foremost Sino-Iran scholars, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why it's still too early to tell if China's new role as the preferred Mideast mediator will succeed. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @iranchinaguy Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 08 Feb 2023 | How the U.S. Aims to Compete With China in Critical Resource Mining | 00:52:07 | |
U.S. officials are speaking out about the urgency to diversify supply chains for critical resources that are now largely dependent on China, particularly rare earths, cobalt, and lithium that are all essential ingredients in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. It's a hot topic this week at Africa's largest mining conference that's taking place in Cape Town. Although senior U.S. diplomats speaking at the conference haven't actually said the word "China," the "C" word is nonetheless clearly on their minds. CGSP Francophone Editor Christian-Geraud Neema, a leading expert in Congolese mining issues, joins Eric to discuss U.S.-China resource competition in Africa and whether Washington's plan to narrow China's lead will actually work. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 25 Apr 2023 | Update on China's Role in the Burgeoning Global South Debt Crisis | 01:02:31 | |
There was a lot of excitement earlier this month at the IMF and World Bank's annual gathering in Washington, D.C. about rumors that the impasse between China and multilateral development banks (MDBs) had been resolved. That stalemate between the Chinese and the MDBs, namely the World Bank, has impeded debt restructuring deals in Sri Lanka, Zambia, and now Ghana among other countries. But now, two weeks later, there's still no official confirmation from either China or the MDBs that they've settled their differences. Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, attended the Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., and joins Eric & Cobus to give an update on the current state of debt relief for some of the world's poorest countries. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @kevinpgallagher | @gdp_center Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 22 Aug 2023 | China's New, Slimmed-Down Belt & Road Initiative | 01:00:38 | |
China's critics contend the Belt and Road Initiative is dead or dying due to a mix of gross mismanagement and hubris. The data, however, reveals a very different story. While lending has definitely decreased considerably from its peak in 2016, the BRI is very much alive -- it just looks very different today than it did even a few years ago. Instead of expensive large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, Chinese lenders are now focusing more on smaller initiatives related to technology, renewable energy, and connectivity. In fact, Chinese creditors lent more money to finance green energy initiatives in the first half of the year than in any other 6-month period since the BRI launched a decade ago. Christoph Nedopil, founding director of the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University has been closely tracking the evolution of the BRI and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what the latest data on BRI lending reveals about its future. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nedopil LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nedopil Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 04 Oct 2022 | What Does Kenya's SGR Tell Us About the Future of Chinese Railway Development in the Global South | 00:46:49 | |
The Chinese-financed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya is one of the flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. But the SGR like other Chinese-sponsored railway projects elsewhere in the Global South also serves as a prime example of the risks to developing countries in taking on so much debt. Keren Zhu, a global China post-doctoral researcher at Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, together with two other scholars recently completed a first-of-its-kind study that explores the winners and losers in the Kenyan SGR project. She joins Eric & Cobus to share the findings of their research and what it says about the future of the BRI. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @zhu_keren Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 16 May 2023 | The Case for More U.S. Soft Power to Counter China in the Global South | 01:04:02 | |
China is one of the very few truly bipartisan issues in Washington today where there is near unanimous consensus that the U.S. must work to counter Beijing's growing influence around the world, especially in developing countries. The problem is that there is much less agreement on what the U.S. should actually do to respond to the China challenge. Dan Runde, a senior vice president at the DC-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his new book that makes the case for why bolstering U.S. soft power is key to persuading Global South countries to favor the United States over China. SHOW NOTES:
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @danrunde Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||
| 21 Feb 2023 | Wang Huiyao on 'China's Misunderstood Foreign Policy' | 00:50:23 | |
Senior-level Chinese stakeholders often contend that one of the main reasons for today's heightened geopolitical tensions between China and the West is due to "misunderstandings" of its foreign policy objectives by outsiders. Chinese distrust is also fueled by a longstanding feeling of victimization by the West and a sense that they've lost the "narrative battle" in international media. Wang Huiyao, president and founder of the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation, wants to change that. In a recent column published in the South China Morning Post newspaper, Wang called on Chinese scholars, analysts, and others to "embrace the global internet if it wants to reclaim its narrative." Wang joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why he thinks China has such a difficult time in communicating its agenda with the rest of the world. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @huiyaowang Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! | |||