Iron ore, tantalum, cobalt, coltan, and a handful of other strategically important minerals and elements are at the center of an increasingly heated battle for the control of global supply chains among the world’s largest economies. Leaders in Europe and the United States have worried for years about China’s growing…

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta looked like he had a great time in France last week. After all, the weather in Paris this time of year is absolutely lovely and this being his first trip out of the country since the COVID-19 outbreak, he was able to get away from the…

China appears to be launching a significant expansion of its distant water fishing fleet around the world and most notably in Africa. Six supertrawlers are already docked in Liberia and three new vessels are now on their way to Morocco to join dozens, if not hundreds of other ships that…

When you think of endangered African animals threatened by poachers, donkeys typically do not come to mind. But the Nigerian government wants to change that by classifying the donkey as an animal that potentially faces “extinction” unless something is done soon. Donkeys in Nigeria and across Africa are being stolen…

It’s been almost three months since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued one of the first calls for emergency debt relief for Africa. …

The Zimbabwean government announced last month that construction of the new $3 billion Sengwa coal power plant will proceed after years of negotiation. The new 2,800-megawatt plant will be a joint effort between Zimbabwe’s Rio Energy and a consortium of Chinese state-owned enterprises led by the Wuhan-based infrastructure contracting giant…

Perceptions over what led to the crisis in Guangzhou back in early April remain starkly divided among Chinese and African stakeholders. Chinese officials vehemently deny that Africans were specifically targeted for additional health COVID-19 health screenings (“epidemic prevention” in the Chinese parlance), forcibly evicted from their residences and subject to…

Economic conditions in a number of African countries are worsening by the day. Lockdowns and a plummet in global commodity prices brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to severe economic repercussions across the continent. At the same, Africa’s estimated $400 billion of debt is weighing on policymakers’ ability…

Less than one week after alarming videos, photos and accounts of African migrants being forced out of their homes and hotels in the southern China city of Guangzhou, the story has been “sorted out” in the eyes of many African leaders. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, declared…