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The China-Global South Project

Twice-weekly discussion about China's engagement across Africa and the Global South hosted by journalist Eric Olander and Asia-Africa scholar Cobus van Staden in Johannesburg.

The China in Africa Podcast

For decades, the United States was the dominant provider of aid and humanitarian assistance to African countries. That changed last year with the closure of USAID. Washington now says it wants to prioritize trade over aid and is pursuing a more transactional approach to development assistance, linking support to mining access and data-sharing agreements.
 
China, by contrast, has never been a major aid provider by traditional standards. Beijing argues that its support for African countries comes primarily through concessional financing and infrastructure development. Like the United States, China is frequently accused of using assistance as a tool to advance broader geopolitical interests.
 
Obert Hodzi, a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool and a leading China–Africa scholar, and Santino Regilme, a lecturer at Leiden University, recently published a new book comparing U.S. and Chinese aid strategies in Africa. They join Eric and Cobus to discuss why the two approaches may appear similar at first glance but remain fundamentally different.
 
📌 Topics Covered in this Episode
 
• African countries push back on new U.S. aid deals
 • Washington's shift from aid to trade and strategic partnerships
 • China's infrastructure-focused development model
 • Aid as a tool of geopolitical competition
 • Growing African agency in negotiating foreign assistance
 • Key differences between U.S. and Chinese aid strategies
 
Show Notes:
 
 Italian Journal of International Affairs: • Comparing US and Chinese Foreign Aid in the Era of Rising Powers by Obert Hodzi and Santino Regilme: 
https://tinyurl.com/bdzm34rs 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth
 
 .

Comparing U.S. and Chinese Aid Strategies in Africa

The U.S., Japan, and other G7 countries are scrambling to secure critical minerals to end their reliance on Chinese-controlled supply chains. Every week, there's news of another mining deal for cobalt, lithium, and other resources essential to powering 21st century technology.
 
But the race to control critical resources may already be over. Decades before countries in the Global West recognized the importance of these minerals and metals, China quietly built out a vast network of mining and refining operations.
 
Nicholas Niarchos, author of the new bestselling book "The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth," joins Eric & Géraud to discuss the history of the battery metal competition and why China's early moves in this space may have given it an insurmountable lead.
 
 📌 Topics Covered in this Episode:
 
 • Why everyone sees the critical minerals supply chain differently and who's missing the full picture
 • The making of "The Elements of Power" — one journalist's journey from Greece to Congo
 • Artisanal mining, child labor, and the political ecosystem keeping it alive
 • How China built its Congo mining empire over 30 years while the West looked away
 • The Sicomines "Deal of the Century" and what it revealed about Chinese strategy
 • Small Chinese traders, violence, and the uneasy coexistence on Congo's mining frontier
 • Indonesia, Western Sahara and the global pattern of extractive exploitation
 • Why the US critical minerals push may already be too little too late
 
Show Notes:
 
 • Purchase a copy of The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth: 
https://a.co/d/0g8xV4n8 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Who Controls the Battery Age? Congo, China, and the New Resource Order

For more than a decade, the dominant Western narrative about Chinese lending to African countries has focused on the purported "debt trap."
 
 But the data tells a very different story.
 
David McNair, executive director of Global Policy at ONE.org, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss a new report on African debt that challenges many popular assumptions.
 
While African countries owe $708 billion in total external debt, only about 11.5% is owed to China. Meanwhile, private bondholders hold the largest share, often at significantly higher interest rates. More importantly, China has shifted from being a major lender to becoming a major debt collector, as loans from the Belt and Road that surged a decade ago now come due. 
 
📌 Topics Covered in this Episode:
 
 • The scale of Africa's $708 billion external debt and China's 11.5% share
 • The $52 billion "Great Reversal" — from Chinese lending to debt collection
 • Why private bondholders now dominate Africa's debt landscape
 • Interest rate comparisons: Chinese loans vs. Eurobonds
 • The rise of multilateral development banks and expanded lending headroom
 • The failures and design flaws of the G20 Common Framework
 • 7. Credit rating agencies, risk perception, and Africa's borrowing costs
 
Show Notes:
 
 Development Finance Observatory: • T
he Great Reversal ONE Data: • 
African Debt Bloomberg: • 
 China's Retreat From Africa Lending Turns It Into Debt Collector by Matthew Hill 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @standenesque
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Why Private Bondholders Matter More Than China in Africa's Debt Debate

Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings is now a massive Chinese technology company that few people outside of Africa and certain parts of Asia have heard of. Even in China, the brand, now the world's 5th-largest mobile phone producer, remains largely unknown.
 
Transsion gained notoriety after it entered the African market in 2006. Back then, the world's largest phone brands all but ignored African consumers, selling low-end, late-model devices designed primarily for Western and Asian consumers.
 
The Chinese company saw an opportunity and tweaked the software on its phones to optimize photos for darker skin tones, and added a suite of features like dual SIM cards, dustproofing, and longer battery life to sell sub-$100 phones to Africa's booming youth market. That formula worked, and the company's three brands, Tecno, Infinix, and iTel, have dominated the market for more than a decade.
 
But little is known about how Transsion achieved its success in Africa. Lu Miao, an assistant professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, joins Eric & Cobus to lay out the company's strategy and why it was so effective in a market that others largely ignored.
 
Purchase the book: The Transsion Approach: Translating Chinese Mobile Technology in Africa by Lu Miao: https://a.co/d/04AKaajZ
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
• Why rural-first strategy beat Silicon Valley-style scaling
 • How African distributors helped shape product design and marketing
 • The importance of dual SIM cards, long battery life, and localized features
 • The role of Carlcare repair centers in building long-term loyalty
 • The shift from feature phones to smartphones and rising competition
 • Growing patent lawsuits and the next phase of AI-driven competition
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander 
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

How a Little-Known Chinese Company Conquered Africa's Cell Phone Market

Donald Trump has never thought very highly of Africa, famously referring to the continent as a place of "sh**hole countries." While there's no indication that sentiment has changed, he's recognized that African resources are essential if he wants the U.S. to decouple from Chinese dominanted critical mineral supply chains.
 
In February, the administration unveiled an ambitious new critical minerals sourcing initiative in which African countries, in particular, play an outsized role. But the Chinese have a 20+ year head start sourcing and refining these minerals and metals, so displacing them is not going to be easy.
 
For some perspective on this burgeoning U.S.-China rivalry, Eric & Géraud are joined by two of the top editors at the online news site Semafor. Yinka Adegoke is Semafor's Africa Editor, and Andy Browne is the outlet's Managing Editor, who will oversee Semafor's new China newsletter.
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • The intensifying U.S.-China rivalry across Africa
 • China's expanding role in Congolese cobalt and critical minerals
 • Xi Jinping's duty-free access offer to 53 African countries
 • Mining versus refining and why processing capacity is the real bottleneck
 • U.S. efforts to counter China through critical minerals partnerships
 • Trade imbalances and the limits of African industrialization
 • Debates in Washington over corruption and China's business practices
 • Governance in the DRC and the deeper roots of regional instability
 
Sign up for Semaphor's Africa and China newsletters:
 
 Semafor Africa: • 
https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/africa Semafor China: • 
https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/china • 
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Why Africa is Now a Key Front in the U.S.-China Rivalry

China is rapidly expanding its military engagement with African countries through a combination of joint exercises, growing arms sales, officer training programs, and deeper security cooperation under its Global Security Initiative.
 
This widening footprint is generating unease in the United States, where policymakers and analysts are particularly worried about unsubstantiated claims that the PLA is seeking to build a base somewhere along Africa's Atlantic coast.
 
Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, and Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, a post-doctoral fellow at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, join Eric & Géraud to explain why Chinese security outreach is getting so much traction across Africa.
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • The scope of PLA military engagement across Africa
 • Debates in Washington over Chinese bases and port access
 • How the Djibouti model shapes fears of future expansion
 • China's Global Security Initiative and what it really means
 • Policing cooperation, surveillance, and domestic security ties
 • The surge in Chinese arms sales, drones, and equipment
 • China's growing security footprint in the Sahel
 • Critical minerals and the security dimension of China-Africa relations
 • What US lawmakers are asking about China's role in the DRC and regional stability
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China's Expanding Military Engagement Across Africa

The United States wants to build a new global critical minerals supply chain through a new alliance that aims to stabilize prices and reduce dependence on China. Africa sits at the center of this shift, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where geopolitics is increasingly shaping mining deals and partnerships.
 
CGSP Africa Editor Géraud Neema joins Eric & Cobus to break down the U.S. proposal and why China's dominance in refining and processing remains a major constraint, raising doubts about whether a minerals strategy focused mainly on extraction can succeed.
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • Washington's push to build a China-free critical minerals alliance
 • JD Vance's proposal for price floors and a minerals trading bloc
 • What US stockpiling plans mean for global supply chains
 • How Africa fits into the US critical minerals strategy and security goals
 • The DRC's pivot toward Washington and the impact on Chinese miners
 • Why refining and processing remain China's biggest advantage
 • The risk of a fragmented global minerals market and hardened blocs
 • What a new critical minerals cold war means for the Global South
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

U.S. Pushes New Critical Minerals Bloc to Counter China

The collapse of the post-war international system now underway will have a disproportionate impact on African countries that rely heavily on multilateral bodies like the UN. Beyond a pull-back of aid and humanitarian assistance, African countries must also contend with an increasingly hostile United States.
 
Dozens of African countries have been targeted by the Trump administration for visa restrictions, trade sanctions, and regularly denigrated by the president himself. At the same time, U.S. diplomats across the continent were ordered by the State Department in January to remind African governments to express more gratitude to the U.S. for its "generosity."
 
Judd Devermont, the former top Africa strategist at the White House during the Biden administration and now an operating partner at Kupanda Capital in Washington, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss the future of U.S.-Africa relations and China's expanding presence on the continent.
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • China's sharp drop in Africa lending and what it signals
 • Why big Chinese infrastructure projects are fading
 • U.S. Africa relations after USAID and PEPFAR cuts
 • The leaked State Department email and Africa as a "peripheral" priority
 • America's collapsing credibility in Africa and beyond
 • Why China is seen as an opportunity, not an ally
 • Critical minerals and the limits of extractive diplomacy
 • What the shifting U.S.-China-Africa balance means next
 
Show Notes:
 
 Post Strategy • : 
On China • by Judd Devermont
 The Guardian: • 
 Head of US Africa bureau urges staff to highlight US 'generosity' despite aid cuts • by Aisha Down
 China Power Project: • 
 US-China-Africa Relations: A View from Africa • by Lina Benabdallah
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Africa and the New World Order: U.S. Pulls Back and China Moves Forward

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week will likely be remembered as one of the most significant orations of the early 21st century. Carney channeled the fear and frustration of many global leaders when he defiantly declared that the U.S.-led international order is over.
 
The "rupture" that Carney referenced in his address has profound consequences for China as it moves to reshape a part of this new international order to better align with its interests.
 
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior research scholar at Columbia University, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why this is such a pivotal time for China as it moves to become a peer power of the United States, at least economically, without triggering the so-called "Thuycides Trap" that dictates this kind of rivalry often leads to war.
 
Show Notes:
 
 Foreign Affairs • : 
 China's Long Economic War — How Beijing Builds Leverage for Indefinite Competition • by Zongyuan Zoe Liu
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • Mark Carney's Davos speech and the declaration of a global rupture
 • The collapse of the rules-based international order
 • What a post-American world looks like for middle powers
 • Economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains
 • Where China fits in the new global order
 • China's long economic war and leverage strategy
 • The Global South's trust gap with China
 • Why the debt trap narrative persists despite evidence
 • China as an opportunity rather than ally in emerging markets
 • The rapid erosion of U.S. global credibility
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China's Place in the New Post-American International Order

While global attention was fixed on the fallout from U.S. intervention in Venezuela and rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi quietly toured three African countries in a notably low-profile visit.
 
Eric, Cobus, and Géraud unpack why this understated trip mattered despite attracting little media attention, and examine its timing alongside a controversial BRICS naval exercise held off the coast of South Africa.
 
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
 
 • Why Africa remains China's first diplomatic stop of the year
 • Wang Yi's low-key tour: Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Lesotho
 • Somalia–Somaliland tensions and China's security calculus
 • Ethiopia diplomacy, development messaging, and AU signaling
 • Tanzania's political reassurance and legacy infrastructure ties
 • Lesotho market access, tariffs, and geopolitical symbolism
 • BRICS naval drills off South Africa and U.S. backlash (AGOA/G20)
 • China's zero-tariff push vs. Africa's limited export gains
 • Bandung 1955: why Asia–Africa solidarity faded, and what could revive it
 • Indonesia parallels: Chinese-built infrastructure and nickel-sector controversies
 • Public opinion shifts: pragmatic views on China and declining U.S. appeal
 
Join the Discussion:
 
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
 
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
 
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
 
 • French: 
www.projetafriquechine.com • | 
@AfrikChine • Spanish: 
www.chinalasamericas.com • | 
@ChinaAmericas 
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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

U.S. Pushes New Critical Minerals Bloc to Counter China

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