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China-Africa relations

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China-Africa relations
Breaking news, analysis and opinion on relations between China and countries in Africa, covering trade, resources and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
President Donald Trump shows pictures during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, US, on May 21 last year. Photo: TNS
South Africa

Trump backs US$50 million investment for South Africa rare earths

Despite a rift with South Africa, the current Trump administration has proceeded with the project to broaden US access to critical minerals.

Zimbabwe

China steps up aid to Africa but huge funding gap left by Trump’s cuts remains

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Mainland China

Why China is urgently looking to North Africa as the energy crisis rolls on

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South Africa

Why China’s trade with Africa benefits from Trump’s policy volatility

Continent is China’s fastest growing export market in first quarter of 2026, with machinery and hi-tech shipments leading US$60 billion surge.

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Motor vehicles bound for export to Ivory Coast are loaded on a cargo ship at Yantai port in China’s eastern Shandong province on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

War of words: China and the US battle it out for African hearts and minds

Rivalry between two global superpowers spills into the media as East meets West head-on in a clash of narratives to win over the continent.

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Mainland China

Is this Kenyan rail project a model for Chinese and Western firms in Africa?

The Nairobi Railway City project is being built by Chinese contractor but Britain is helping to provide the funding.

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China education

Vocational schools a new front as China backs businesses’ global expansion

Earlier programmes focused on infrastructure, but new wave is shaped by demand in e-commerce, digital services and advanced manufacturing.

Illustration: Henry Wong
Africa

Opinion | China’s growing North Africa presence a structural challenge for Europe

Cooperate or hedge? Growing Chinese energy, infrastructure and industrial investments require a sustained, coordinated European response.

Africa

Chinese surveillance rolled out in Africa: ZTE, Hikvision, Huawei at the helm

China’s ‘safe city’ project can counter terrorism and curb crime but critics worry it may repress political opposition and peaceful protests.

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Africa

China gains ground in DR Congo’s mining sector as Australian firm loses permits

Chinese firms emerge as preferred partners as African nations seek bigger returns on critical mineral extraction.

Congolese Minister of Mines Louis Watum Kabamba (left) and Chinese Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhiou have signed a memorandum of understanding on “cooperation in the fields of geology and mineral resources”. Photo: Louis Watum Kabamba
Africa

China and Kenya partner to finish ‘most consequential’ rail project

New financing breathes life into long-stalled Standard Gauge Railway extension across African country at estimated cost of US$5.4 billion.

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Kenyan President William Ruto tightens a railway line bolt during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Naivasha-Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway extension in Narok, Kenya, on March 19. Photo: Xinhua
Africa

Why are smugglers swarming East Africa for ants to send to China and Europe?

A black market in harvester ants has sprung up in Kenya, with big implications for the environment.

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Mainland China

Can China step in to fill the gap as US pressures allies to snub South Africa?

On the same day South Africa is disinvited from the G7 summit following threats from Washington, Beijing offers tariff-free trade.

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Trade

Opinion | As Trump wrecks trade, WTO meeting in Cameroon is a show of defiance

Trade ministerial conference shows that most nations still value multilateral cooperation over the chaotic whims of a hegemon.

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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 23. Photo: AFP
Africa

Kenya secures trade deal with China amid rising debt, US competition

Nairobi reaches a zero-tariff trade agreement with Beijing allowing Kenya to expand exports but it must tread carefully due to Washington.

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Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng met with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 24 and the two countries reached key trade and infrastructure deals. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China

China will stockpile critical resources and boost energy supply security

Beijing boosts economic self-reliance and long-term stability as a matter of ‘national security’ while Middle East conflicts continue.

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Mainland China

China’s supply chain meets the wall of African resource nationalism

As resource-rich nations introduce export bans and other limits, analyst says investment may not automatically follow.

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Niger

China’s new security era in Africa: protecting assets, citizens in volatile nations

Analysts say China’s five-year plan suggests layered security, and PLA training to protect diplomats, nationals and assets from terror hits.

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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, whose visit to Somalia in January was cancelled over safety concerns, has highlighted the “complex and severe risks of terrorism”. Photo: EPA
South Africa

Why China and South Africa have a US$17 billion gap on trade data

Statistical discrepancy reflects different reporting practices and ‘opaque’ global commodity chains, according to observers.

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South Africa

Why US money may not be enough to break China’s rare earths dominance

Washington aims to spend billions in Africa to build up a strategic reserve of key minerals, but analysts warn it may not be so simple.

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Benin

Why Beijing’s US$4.5 billion Niger-Benin oil pipeline is under fire from rebels

Chinese nationals warned to avoid high-risk areas after infrastructure becomes a primary target for rebels seeking to halt military junta.

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Chinese nationals in Niger have been put on high alert after an oil pipeline, which is operated by a Chinese company and stretches from Koulele in Niger to the port of Seme in Benin, was attacked by rebels. Photo: X
Angola

Chinese embassy warns citizens not to fall foul of Angola immigration crackdown

Chinese nationals warned not to assume the country is ‘filled with gold’ after some were detained and deported for working illegally.

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The Chinese embassy in Luanda warned its citzens and companies to comply with the local laws. Photo: Shutterstock
Africa

Opinion | China’s zero-tariff offer to Africa is a game changer

In contrast to Western proposals that come with strings attached, China has turned its own market into the main instrument of partnership.

Aerospace Information Research Institute (China)

How China’s ‘gifting’ of space infrastructure is a diplomatic tool in Africa

Analysts say Beijing is gifting space infrastructure as a form of soft power on the continent.

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Zimbabwe

China helps Zimbabwe grow US$1.2 billion tobacco crop amid debt, health concerns

As Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural export and a primary foreign currency earner, tobacco dominates its trade with Beijing.

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Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural export and a primary foreign currency earner, dominating its trade with Beijing. Last season, it produced 352.7 million kilograms of tobacco. Photo: Getty Images
Africa

China says it won’t seek reciprocity with South Africa on zero-tariff policy

Envoy makes the pledge as Beijing prepares to roll out tax-free access to the Chinese market for goods from 53 African nations.

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South African exports to China include fruit, grains, wine, rooibos tea and minerals. Photo: China News Service via Getty Images
Kenya

Why China’s fast turnaround gives its projects an edge in Kenya over the West

A Kenyan investment agency says most projects signed off in 2025, including a steel processing plant were either operational or being built.

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Africa

How a punt on an unknown Chinese truck manufacturer paid off in South Africa

Chinese commercial truck builder FAW now outsells major Western and Japanese brands including Toyota, Daimler and Isuzu.

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