The China in Africa Podcast

AidData, the development research lab at William & Mary College in Virginia, published a landmark report this week that provides the most comprehensive overview to date of Chinese financing of projects along the Belt and Road. Researchers pored through 13,247 projects in 165 countries worth $843 billion from 2000 through 2017. The report sparked a torrent of media coverage this week, mostly on the news about $385 billion of so-called "hidden debts." But the data in this report tells a much more nuanced story about Chinese overseas development finance than what was portrayed in the news. AidData's Executive Director Brad Parks joins Eric & Cobus to walk through the report's key findings and explain why Chinese debt financing is incredibly complicated. SHOW NOTES: Download the full report: Banking on the Belt and Road AidData Blog: AidData’s new dataset of 13,427 Chinese development projects worth $843 billion reveals major increase in ‘hidden debt’ and Belt and Road Initiative implementation problems JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @aiddata JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject Your support of this podcast helps to keep the show on the air. Thank you! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's scheduled guest didn't show, so Eric & Cobus went back to their roots by producing a Lightning Round Podcast where they hashed out three of the hottest topics in the news this week. Join the guys for a fast-paced discussion on U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to not meet with any African leader last week, the latest in the China-DRC mining saga and why the opening of the four day China-Africa Trade Expo in the central Chinese province of Hunan is kind of a big deal. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Chinese and U.S. Presidents spoke on the same day this week at the United Nations General Assembly with each offering a different vision for the future. Joe Biden challenged critics who contend that democracy is in retreat while Xi Jinping warned "the world is once again at a historical crossroads" and pushed back on a U.S.-led international order. And there's a lot at stake for developing countries in Africa and elsewhere in this debate as both major powers seek to align others to their worldview. In Washington, D.C., there's a widespread perception that Beijing is increasingly using technology, money, and ideological influence to spread authoritarianism around the world to better strengthen its geopolitical position. Charles Edel and David Shullman, two leading U.S. China analysts laid out the challenge in an article published in the current edition of Foreign Affairs where they detail "China's international efforts to subvert democracy." Charles and David join Eric & Cobus from Washington to discuss the threat they think China presents and how policymakers should respond. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @charlesedel | @davidshullman SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After months of negative media coverage, Chinese mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are pushing back against the perception they aren't fulfilling their contractual obligations to provide social services and build infrastructure for the local communities where they operate. There's been a recent flurry of news coverage, social media posts, and even ministerial visits to mining sites to bolster their position. DRC mining and policy analyst Christian-Geraud Neema Byamungu has been closely following the Chinese response to the government's moves to review foreign mining contracts and how this increasingly contentious issue is unfolding. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

China has deftly managed its relations in the Middle East across sensitive sectarian and geopolitical landscapes but now that Beijing is moving to become more engaged in the region, it risks falling into many of the same pitfalls that have bedeviled other major powers. Nowhere is this more on display than in Israel where Beijing has enjoyed steadily improving relations with the Jewish State over the past thirty years but now confronts unprecedented new geopolitical challenges. Tuvia Gering, a China research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, closely follows Sino-Israeli ties and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of relations between the world's two oldest continuous civilizations. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @GeringTuvia SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A growing number of people in Africa are facing acute shortages of food due in part to disruptions brought on by COVID, climate change, and, in some countries, conflict. Solving the problem today is not going to be easy given how much of the continent depends on imported food supplies. China at once is both a contributor to the problem, especially given its role as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and a key part of the solution. Ama Brandford-Arthur, a senior partnerships officer in the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Unit at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized UN agency, joins Eric & Cobus from Rome to discuss what she thinks China can do to help alleviate the growing problem of food insecurity in Africa. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque  SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The debt situation in Africa is changing very quickly as some countries race to negotiate urgent bailouts with the IMF while others are struggling to service their debts amid the ongoing pandemic. Pretty much every country across the continent is struggling right now. And China is a key player in every part of this story, whether it's as a major player in the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) or as the primary bilateral creditor to at least ten countries that are now confronting rising levels of debt distress. Greg Smith, a former World Bank economist who's now an emerging markets fund manager at M&G Investment in London, chronicles Africa's debt challenges in a new book coming out soon that provides critical context to the current financial crisis that's now unfolding in many African countries and the role that China's played over the years. Greg joins Eric & Cobus to talk about his new book and to share his insights on the current debt situation on the continent. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @emsovdebt Amazon: Pre-order a paperback copy of Greg's book "Where Credit is Due: How Africa's Debt Can Be a Benefit, Not a Burden" SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, right now to accurately public opinion perceptions of China in a region as large and diverse as Africa. There are strong indications that point in opposite directions. African leaders one after another shower China with praise for its ongoing support of infrastructure development and COVID-19 vaccine distribution among other activities. Meantime, civil society views of China in many African countries are seemingly becoming increasingly negative amid a steady stream of violent videos appearing on social media show abuse of local workers along with reports of illegal immigration and widespread environmental violations by Chinese companies. Maria Repnikova, an assistant professor at Georgia State University, closely follows these trends and has conducted extensive field research on the issue in Ethiopia and elsewhere. She joins Eric & Cobus from Atlanta to discuss current trends in Chinese soft power in Africa and why Chinese training junkets for African elites are proving to be especially effective. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @mariarepnikova Amazon: Purchase a Kindle copy of Maria's book "Media Politics in China: Improvising Power under Authoritarianism" SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As African countries work to rebuild their economies from the wreckage caused by the ongoing COVID pandemic, policymakers will be looking at what they can do to bolster their countries' state-owned enterprises (SOE). That may prompt them to examine China's model of SOE governance for some inspiration. Although China's SOE system is largely unique to China and would be impossible to replicate in African countries, Luke Jordan, a practitioner in resident at the MIT Governance Lab, recently suggested in a new paper published by SAIIA that are, in fact, certain attributes that African stakeholders should consider. Luke joins Eric & Cobus from Belin to discuss his paper and what specific lessons about China's SOE experience he thinks would be applicable in an African context. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @lukesjordan LinkedIn: Luke Jordan https://bit.ly/3mQfPvc SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: 1. The world's only curated China-Africa News Feed with thousands of articles archive 2. Exclusive analysis of the day's top stories about China in Africa and the Global South 3. A copy of the popular China-Africa Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox by 6am Washington time M-F Try it free for 30-days and see if you like it. Subscriptions start at just $7 a month for students and teachers and $15 a month for everyone else. Subscribe here: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.