Browsing: China

President William Ruto’s election in August 2022 introduced an element of uncertainty in Kenya’s foreign policy landscape. While it is challenging to predict the exact trajectory, his past statements suggest a more pragmatic and balanced approach to international relations. While emphasizing the importance of regional integration and South-South cooperation, President Ruto has also acknowledged the significance of Kenya’s longstanding relationship with the United States. This nuanced stance implies that the government might not abandon the Look East Policy entirely but rather recalibrate to strike a more balanced approach between the East and the West.…

• China signs deal to reopen closed uranium mining site in crisis-hit Niger.
• Niger further agrees to give Chinese Company an oil pipeline deal.
• China to build an industrial park for manufacturing, real estate, mining.

China has signed a deal with troubled West African nation of Niger for the reopening of a controversial uranium mining site. Before China, there was France, and now the question is, will Chinese leave Niger in a better condition than the Frenchmen?

China is actually looking to score a broad-based investment deal that will include the construction of an industrial park, and an oil pipeline among other investments. The industrial park is also to be the site for the development of the uranium mine in question or maybe a site for enrichment, the details of the deal are not yet clear.

Niger China uranium mining

Jiang Feng, the Chinese ambassador to Niger, made the revelations recently. …

• Since President Félix Tshisekedi took power in January 2019, DRC has been pitching and welcoming international and regional investors in Kinshasa. 
• President Tshisekedi has struck mining and agriculture investment agreements with Chinese companies.
• In July, UAE signed a $1.9 billion deal with a state mining firm in the DRC to develop four mines in eastern Congo. South Africa struck electric batteries deal with DRC in July, too.

Across the Democratic Republic of Congo—the second largest country in Africa—the weather is friendly, and the policymakers in Kinshasa have been steadily turning the tide, making DRC a hub for investments.

A stroll down the streets of Kinshasa, a city of over 13 million bustling with activity, heavy clouds are keeping the glare of the tropical sun at bay. The capital’s streets are busy and crowded. The traffic is congested and millions rub shoulders on the sidewalks. To my utter shock, in Kinshasa, …

In recent years, Africa has emerged as a promising destination for global investment, with its vast natural resources, expanding consumer markets, and growing middle class. As the continent’s economies continue to strengthen and diversify, global players increasingly recognise the potential for mutually beneficial partnerships. The United States has significantly contributed to Africa’s economic transformation among these partners.…

The implications of fragmentation and polarization on Africa’s economic growth and whether these trends will continue are unknown. What is certain is that multilateral organizations will need to continue encouraging international dialogue to promote economic integration and collaboration. As a result, one problem that emerges is whether African nations would adopt a unified stance or take a non-aligned approach in the Sino-American dispute.…

In the last 20 years, Africa’s external debt has grown fivefold to about $700 billion. According to Chatham House, a policy centre in London, Chinese lenders account for about 12 per cent of that amount. As of November 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank considered 22 low-income African countries to either be in debt distress or facing potential external debt distress.…

In recent months, the discourse about de-dollarisation has gained momentum. The sanctions against Russia have exposed the danger of over-dependence on the US dollar in international trade. The recent foreign exchange challenges have also recharged the growing efforts to bolster other currencies.

De-dollarisation could soon become a reality. A BRICS substitute to the dollar could enjoy high prospects for success, a former White House adviser, Joseph Sullivan, has noted. Sullivan served as a staff economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Trump administration. According to him, a potential BRICS currency poses a unique threat to the dominance of the US dollar in international trade.…

The global financial landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent times. Remarkably, the issue of the de-dollarization of international trade is slowly but steadily gathering momentum. A rising trend toward de-dollarization is challenging the longstanding supremacy of the United States in the international financial system. As the dominant global reserve currency, the US dollar remains pivotal in international trade, investment, and financial transactions.…

• Trade between China and Tanzania grew by 23.7% year-on-year, reaching US$8.31 billion in 2022
• China pledges increased cooperation under its Global Development Initiative
• As of 2022, trade volume between China and Africa reached US$282 billion dollars, an 11.1% year-on-year growth.

China-Tanzania relations can be measured in growing trade portfolios and can be seen in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s choice to make Tanzania the first African country to visit when he came into power in 2013.

Not only was Tanzania President Xi’s first African country to visit but his first overseas trip since assuming the presidency.

In his speech 10 years ago, delivered at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center which was built with Chinese assistance, President Xi cemented relations between the two long-term friends and partners.

In his speech titled; “Be Trustworthy Friends and Sincere Partners Forever,” President Xi emphasized the principles of sincerity, goodwill, good faith, and pursuing the …

• The prospect of establishing a common currency will be a top agenda at the upcoming BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa later this year.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is working towards trading in their own national currencies.
• Roughly 40 percent of international trade transactions in goods are invoiced in dollars

The prospect of establishing a common currency will be a top agenda at the upcoming BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa later this year.

Should the common currency be formed, it will be based on a basket of the currencies of the BRICS countries; the Chinese RMB Yuan, the Russian Ruble, the Indian Rupee, the Brazilian Real, and the South African Rand.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has on several occasions announced plans by the BRICS countries to unify their currencies and untangle themselves from dollar dependency.

At a media conference during his Africa tour at the start of …