Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Africa Project (CAP), an independent, non-partisan media initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of China’s engagement in Africa. Eric is also the co-host, along with Cobus van Staden, of The China in Africa Podcast, a member of the Sinica Podcast Network by SupChina.
New rules from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology make clear that Beijing aims to tighten export controls on rare earth metals, a group of minerals essential to manufacturing electronics. Meanwhile, China has been on a cobalt buying binge, particularly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What might China's goals be in paying visits to Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, and the Seychelles?
African governments are becoming more interested in public-private partnerships with Chinese companies.
Are China’s activities in Africa focused on furthering domestic political objectives rather than on providing what the continent needs most right now, capital and infrastructure?
Comments from a high-ranking official at China's National Development and Reform Commission are the clearest signal so far that Beijing is serious about linking its own multinational trading regime with Africa's.
I’ve been covering the China-Africa story closely for more than 10 years and I can’t think of another example of such a forceful denunciation of the Chinese government by a group of African governing elites.