The China in Africa Podcast

Across Africa, public opinion about China has been quite positive overall with favorability ratings surpassing those of other major powers, including the United States. But not in Zimbabwe, at least among the country's elites, according to a new survey. Only 37% of urban, educated Zimbabweans felt positive about China's impact on their country, significantly lower than the 63% favorability score that Afrobarometer recorded just a couple of years ago. The new poll was conducted earlier this year by William Hautungimana and Haruka Nagao, both assistant professors at Oklahoma State University in the United States. William joins Eric & Cobus from Stillwater, Oklahoma to explain why China's approval rating is comparatively low and what's fueling the skepticism about the Chinese in Zimbabwe. SHOW NOTES: The Conversation: We asked 1,000 Zimbabweans what they think of China's influence on their country − only 37% viewed it favorably: https://bit.ly/3rN8iCo JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @williamhautung1 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP 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 CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest Michael Pettis, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses the impact of China's changing economy on the Global South. Topics include China's weakened economy post-pandemic, the property crisis, and the effect on local government finances. Pettis also explores China's economic policies, high savings, and the role of the RMB in the global economy. The podcast touches on manufacturing trends, interdependency with the US, biases on social media, and the launch of the China Global South project.

Only a handful of universities around the world teach area studies courses in China-Africa relations. It's a field that was once quite popular but less so today as interest in studying Chinese affairs more broadly has fallen precipitously. Student enrollment, for example, in Chinese language classes in U.S. and European universities has plunged by at least 20% over the past ten years and is still largely non-existent in most higher education programs in the Global South. But if you're one of the fortunate few to attend Harvard University, you can still study Mandarin and sign up for the class "China and the African Continent." The course instructor, Daniel Koss, an associate senior lecturer and research scholar in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, joins Eric & Cobus from Cambridge to discuss the key themes that he's covering in this semester's class. SHOW NOTES: "EASTD 199: China and the African Continent" course cover art: https://bit.ly/46G4UrR Google Scholar: Daniel Koss: https://bit.ly/46zNgG3 Africans on China: africansonchina.com JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @kossdaniel Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP 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 CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dramatic scenes this week in Italy where 7,000 people, mostly from Africa, came ashore after making the dangerous trek across the Mediterranean. It was a similar situation along the U.S.-Mexico border where 9,000 people crossed in a single day. Poverty, in many cases, is fueling this latest migration surge due in part to the worsening economic conditions in many of these countries, particularly in Africa which is now the epicenter of twin climate and debt crises. David McNair, executive director of Global Policy at the UK-based One Campaign, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss his latest research on African debt repayments and how stark inequities make it impossible for many of the world's poorest governments to do anything to mitigate the effects of climate change. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Sign up to receive the One.org Aftershocks weekly newsletter: data.one.org/aftershocks/ X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @david_mcnair Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP 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 CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses the economic slowdown in China and its impact on developing countries, including the decrease in Chinese lending to Africa, challenges in the property market and youth unemployment. It also explores concerns about the quality of Chinese economic data, the relationship between power in China and popular satisfaction, and the US discourse on China's economic situation. Additionally, it addresses the lack of concern exhibited by leaders in developing countries towards their own country's development and discusses the current state of the African-China relationship.

Chinese lending to Africa hits a 20-year low, shifting focus to sustainable initiatives. The decline marks a change in China's relationship with Africa, impacting loan generosity. The podcast explores the decline, the rise of defense lending, and the 'small and beautiful' lending approach. It also discusses the potential impact on China's influence in Africa and underwhelming returns of visits. The funding gap in Africa is highlighted along with the availability of a debt archive on ChinaGlobalSouth.com.

There was a glimmer of hope last month that China and India would pull back from their increasingly contentious standoff when military commanders concluded talks along their disputed border on a somewhat optimistic note. The hope was that these talks would pave the way for leaders from both countries to meet while they were together at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did meet briefly in South Africa but it did nothing to stall the downward spiral in relations between the two Asian powers. Ananth Krishnan, an associate editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi and one of the foremost experts on Sino-Indian relations, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why ties have soured so badly and what to expect going forward. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ananthkrishnan Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP 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 CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses the African Union's admission to the G20 and its potential implications. It also covers topics such as managing climate change funds, investments in oil and gas, racist greeting videos in China, and Africa's influence on global pop culture.

China's Belt and Road Initiative marked its 10th anniversary this month, prompting a lot of discussion about what's next for Beijing's controversial development agenda. While BRI spending in Africa and the Americas has plummeted in recent years that is not the case closer to home in Southeast Asia. Cambodia, in particular, stands apart from other countries in terms of its growing dependence on Chinese economic engagement -- both from government-backed BRI projects and private investors who have transformed major cities like Sihanoukville (not always for the better). Wang Yuan, an assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University, and Linda Calabrese, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, published a paper last month that examined China's hugely important economic presence in Cambodia and join Eric & Cobus to discuss what lessons other developing countries can learn from Phnom Penh's experience. SHOW NOTES: World Development: Chinese capital, regulatory strength and the BRI: A tale of 'fractured development' in Cambodia: https://bit.ly/3PlXqTU JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @lindacalab Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP 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 CAP Podcast mug! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's been a surge of activity in Africa-ASEAN relations in recent weeks highlighted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo's recent African tour and the Singapore-Africa Business Forum that took place earlier this month in the Lion City. Closer trade and investment ties make sense for both regions as the traditional engines of economic growth in China and Europe continue to slow. Amit Jain, director of the Centre for African Studies at Nanyang Technological University, joins Eric & Cobus from Singapore to discuss the growing interest in Africa among Southeast Asian investors and why they've been so reluctant until now to get more engaged. Plus, in their postscript, Eric & Cobus discuss this week's Africa Climate Summit and why it turned out to be yet another disappointing climate conference. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-jain-consultant Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr 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 China-Africa Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.