The China in Africa Podcast

The podcast discusses the economic slowdown in China and its impact on developing countries, including the decrease in Chinese lending to Africa, challenges in the property market and youth unemployment. It also explores concerns about the quality of Chinese economic data, the relationship between power in China and popular satisfaction, and the US discourse on China's economic situation. Additionally, it addresses the lack of concern exhibited by leaders in developing countries towards their own country's development and discusses the current state of the African-China relationship.

Chinese lending to Africa hits a 20-year low, shifting focus to sustainable initiatives. The decline marks a change in China's relationship with Africa, impacting loan generosity. The podcast explores the decline, the rise of defense lending, and the 'small and beautiful' lending approach. It also discusses the potential impact on China's influence in Africa and underwhelming returns of visits. The funding gap in Africa is highlighted along with the availability of a debt archive on ChinaGlobalSouth.com.

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/chinaafricaproject See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses the African Union's admission to the G20 and its potential implications. It also covers topics such as managing climate change funds, investments in oil and gas, racist greeting videos in China, and Africa's influence on global pop culture.

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: World Development: Chinese capital, regulatory strength and the BRI: A tale of ‘fractured development’ in Cambodia: https://bit.ly/3PlXqTU 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's been a surge of activity in Africa-ASEAN relations in recent weeks highlighted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo's recent African tour and the Singapore-Africa Business Forum that took place earlier this month in the Lion City. Closer trade and investment ties make sense for both regions as the traditional engines of economic growth in China and Europe continue to slow. Amit Jain, director of the Centre for African Studies at Nanyang Technological University, joins Eric & Cobus from Singapore to discuss the growing interest in Africa among Southeast Asian investors and why they've been so reluctant until now to get more engaged. Plus, in their postscript, Eric & Cobus discuss this week's Africa Climate Summit and why it turned out to be yet another disappointing climate conference. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-jain-consultant 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 CGSP 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 China-Africa Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses China's indispensable role in Africa's railway renaissance, exploring the popularity of Chinese light rail construction in Africa, challenges and dreams of creating an integrated East African rail network, financing and feasibility of railway projects in Africa, the book 'Africa's Railway Renaissance' and its availability, challenges in establishing regional value chains in Africa, and the profitability and impact of railway projects in Africa.

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:  Byford Tsang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byfordtsang Madhura Zoshi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhura-joshi-b1b9a622 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The once lifeless BRICS bloc got a big boost of energy this week with the addition of six new members including two additional African states from Egypt and Ethiopia. Together, African countries will now account for nearly a third of the 11-member group -- far more than any other international multilateral organization. The announcement to enlarge the bloc came at the end of a high-profile three-day leaders summit in Johannesburg. Adhere Cavince, a Nairobi-based China-Africa researcher, spent much of the week in Johannesburg attending events on the sidelines of the summit and joins Eric & Geraud to discuss what a new beefed-up BRICS means for Africa and the Global South more broadly. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @christiangeraud | @eric_olander | @cavinceworld LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/adhere-cavince-9039831a 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses China's Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting the shift towards smaller initiatives in technology, renewable energy, and connectivity. It explores the controversy surrounding Italy's exit from the BRI and China's commitment to stop funding coal-fired plants overseas. The future of the BRI, comparison with the PGII, and China's expansion into green energy in Kenya are also discussed. The podcast emphasizes China's strategic shift towards the global south and contrasts it with initiatives from the US and Europe.