The China in Africa Podcast

Join us for a very lively end-of-week show where Eric, Cobus, and Geraud get into a spirited debate over whether China, India, and wealthy countries will pay for the damage they've caused to poor countries in Africa and elsewhere from global climate change. Geraud, like many in Kenya, is also baffled over the terms of Kenya's multi-billion loan agreement with China to build the Standard Gauge Railway and Cobus shares some insights on Africa's presence at this week's G20 summit in Indonesia. 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! 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.

This Summer the United States updated its foreign policy for Africa when it shifted the focus from competing with China to improving governance and bolstering trade ties with the region. Now, three months later, the State Department's top diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee, joins Eric & Cobus for an in-depth discussion on the new strategy and how it's being received by stakeholders across the continent. Also, three prominent African scholars were invited to submit questions on any topic to the Assistant Secretary: Dr. Tobi Oshodi, lecturer in the department of political science at Lagos State University: @tobioshodi Dr. Dr Folashadé Soulé, senior research associate at the Global Economic Governance program (Blavatnik School of Government) at Oxford University: @folasoule Dr. Bob Wekesa, acting director of the U.S.-Africa Centre at Wits University: @bobwekesa JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander  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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

[DISCLAIMER: This special bonus episode was recorded live from a classroom on the campus of Wits University in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn't great -- it's OK, not great -- but we hope that you'll give the show a chance and listen to what was a very lively and informative discussion] China's relationship with Africa is undergoing profound change in the post-pandemic era. Chinese engagement on the continent has fallen precipitously with a massive drop in people-to-people exchanges, development finance lending, and academic engagement. In this special live episode of the show broadcast from the African Investigative Journalism Conference on the campus of Wits University in Johannesburg, Eric & Cobus explore the emerging trends and new myths in China-Africa relations with a distinguished panel of journalists and analysts:  Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue  Geraud Neema, Francophone Editor at The China-Global South Project  Bongiwe Tutu, Project Coordinator at The Africa-China Reporting Project  Isak Lam, China-based researcher and journalist  Sisi Mi, China-based researcher and data journalist JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud | @sanushanaidu 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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: Sinification: Chinese experts react to the U.S.’s National Security Strategy by Thomas des Garets Geddes: https://bit.ly/3VWRt23 Politico: ‘Frustrated and powerless’: In fight with China for global influence, diplomacy is America’s biggest weakness bu Nahal Toosi: https://politi.co/3TTlIVW 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! 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.

Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined a more assertive foreign policy vision during his closely-followed address at the 20th Party Congress in Beijing last Sunday. He made it clear that China's new foreign policy priorities will focus primarily on competition with the U.S., Taiwan reunification along with strengthening the country's technological and military capabilities. Notably, the President mentioned the BRI only in passing during the two-hour address to Global South issues, which isn't a huge surprise given this speech is largely focused on domestic issues. CGSP Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the speech and what an apparent shift in Chinese foreign policy means for Africa and other developing regions around the world. 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! 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.

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! 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 United Nations Development Program issued a new report this week that once again sounded the alarm on the urgent need for debt relief in the world's poorest countries. The UNDP said 54 countries are at risk, with African countries accounting for almost half. Zambia, however, is among a handful of countries that is actually making progress in restructuring its debt. Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says he's optimistic that a deal can be finalized before the end of the year and China has played a critical role in the process. Bloomberg reporters Tom Hancock and Matthew Hill have been covering the Zambian debt story from Hong Kong and South Africa respectively and join Eric to explain why there's so much global interest in how China responds to this particular crisis. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @mattstephenhill | @hancocktom 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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! 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.

Home Coming is the latest Chinese blockbuster movie set in Africa that registered big box office returns during its Golden Week opening. The film is set in the fictitious North African country of Numia and tells the story based on the 2011 evacuation of thousands of Chinese nationals from Libya ahead of the civil war. Francophone Editor Geraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the role that Africa and Africans play in Chinese blockbusters like Home Coming and its more famous predecessor Wolf Warrior 2.  MOVIE TRAILERS DISCUSSED IN THE SHOW: Home Coming: https://youtu.be/AxEq_LfhMGQ Operation Red Sea: https://youtu.be/w2dbIXyB5yY Ebola Fighters: https://youtu.be/qr4ibTPtVIM Wolf Warrior 2: https://youtu.be/klyyYsmzcNQ The Blue Defensive Line: https://youtu.be/JZ5TBd0vQt4 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! 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 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! 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.