Twice-weekly discussion about China's engagement across Africa and the Global South hosted by journalist Eric Olander and Asia-Africa scholar Cobus van Staden in Johannesburg.
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Explore Mandarin with TeaTime Chinese Podcast (茶歇中文播客). Ideal for intermediate learners, our episodes utilize the Comprehensible Input method to delve into a wide array of subjects including Chinese culture, history, literature, and society. Enhance your language skills, prepare for HSK exams, or simply immerse yourself in content that broadens your cultural horizons.
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A weekly round-up of top business and financial news from China's leading financial magazine, Caixin, produced and hosted by the Sinica Podcast's Kaiser Kuo, featuring full stories from Caixin and conversations with Caixin writers and editors.
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Kenya Prez Ruto Shows Persistence Pays When Negotiating With China
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48:56Kenyan President William Ruto wrapped up a four-day visit to China on Friday and returned home with a massive new railway deal and more than a billion dollars of investment pledges. Ruto's successful closing of the Phase III extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to the Ugandan border comes after nearly a decade of Kenyan lobbying in China. Also, …
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Zambia’s Kafue River Disaster Puts China’s Mining Record Under Fire
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43:47In February, a tailings dam at a Chinese-owned mine in Zambia collapsed, releasing 50 million liters of acid waste into the Kafue River—a critical water source for millions. The spill sparked national outrage and raised urgent questions about environmental oversight, China’s expanding role in Africa’s mining sector, and Zambia’s ability to safeguar…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] South China Sea Update: Will the U.S. Really Defend the Philippines Against China?
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45:55Donald Trump strongly feels that U.S. security alliances in Europe no longer serve Washington's long-term interest. In his view, the U.S. is being "ripped off" by wealthy countries that can afford to pay for their protection but choose to rely on the United States instead. He also says much the same thing about the U.S. military presence in Japan a…
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Kenya Courts China While U.S. Sounds Alarm Over Beijing’s Reach in Africa
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1:15:45Kenyan President William Ruto is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this month for an official state visit, where he's widely expected to finalize a long-awaited deal to extend the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border. But the key question remains: will China agree to fund the 475-kilometer extension? Eric and Géraud a…
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The Fate of China's Global Supply Chains in the New Tariff Era
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40:31With new tariff threats from the Trump administration and rising tensions across key markets, companies and governments alike are scrambling to understand what decoupling—or de-risking—actually looks like in practice. From electronics and apparel to solar panels and electric vehicles, China’s role in global production remains formidable. But is it …
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U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that he will not back down from his massive tariff campaign that he launched last week and even promised to impose even higher duties on Chinese goods in response to Beijing's 34% tariff retaliation on U.S. imported goods. Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and author of the H…
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In China’s Wake, India Tries a Cleaner, Fairer Mineral Path in Africa
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57:59In January, the Indian government published a new critical minerals strategy that details how the country aims to bolster supply chains necessary for its green energy transition. While the report underscores the importance of developing domestic supplies of lithium and other transition resources, it also calls for closer international partnerships,…
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Lessons From Southeast Asia on How to Manage Great Power Rivalries
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55:56China and Vietnam have taken two distinctly different approaches in how they manage their territorial disputes with China. The Philippines is leaning into its alliance with the United States along with new security pacts with more than half a dozen other countries. Vietnam, in contrast, is going it alone. Ironically, Vietnam is expanding its territ…
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South Africa's Active Yet Unequal Trade With China
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45:36From afar, the China-South Africa trade relationship looks amazing. Last year, the two countries sold more than $52 billion worth of goods to one another — mostly raw materials from South Africa and finished goods from China. But when you look at the figures more closely, some real problems become evident. While trade volumes between the two countr…
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Mining Disaster in Zambia
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1:00:10Millions of Zambians along the Kafue River are coming to grips with the devastating environmental impact brought about by a massive acid spill from a Chinese-run copper mine. A tailings dam broke on February 18th, sending 50 million liters of toxic water into the Kafue River, killing fish, wildlife and endangering public health. Sino-Metals, the Ch…
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China, Africa, and the Post-American World
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42:37During his Senate confirmation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the so-called "liberal international order" that he said was obsolete and no longer working for the United States. Since he and his boss, President Donald Trump, took office eight weeks ago, they have thoroughly upended the post-WWII global order that the U.S. itself esta…
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China, the U.S., and the Competition for Africa’s Strategic Resources
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55:05Southern Africa has become a focal point of geopolitical competition, with the U.S., China, and other global powers maneuvering for influence over key infrastructure projects and critical resources. The Lobito Corridor Project, a railway and logistics initiative spanning Angola, Zambia, and the DRC, is at the center of this contest. Questions aroun…
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Zimbabwe’s Fight for Responsible Mining: Lessons for Africa & China
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39:05In recent years, the relationship between Chinese mining companies and local communities in many African countries has been very contentious over allegations of environmental damage, a lack of transparency, and tensions with local civil society groups. In Zimbabwe, a new initiative—the China-Africa Dialogue on Green Minerals for Responsible Investm…
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The End of the West and the Future of China
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58:32U.S. President Donald Trump's decision this week to pause military funding for Ukraine and to align his government with Russia further widens the cleavage between the United States and Europe — effectively breaking what has long been known as "the West." At first glance, many of China's Western critics will see this as welcome news, but it also mea…
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Tracking China's Dominance of the Transition Minerals Trade
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44:19U.S. and European leaders often talk about the importance of building China-free supply chains for transition minerals and other critical resources. While, for a lot of people, that may resonate among their constituents at home, the reality is that it's not even remotely possible — at least for the foreseeable future. China has spent the better par…
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Chinese AI, Automotive Tech Poised to Sweep Across Global South
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33:14When the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer launched DeepSeek on January 20th, the global AI market for large language model (LLM) systems was turned upside down. Investors dumped nearly a trillion dollars of tech stocks in the U.S., panicked by the prospect that a cheaper, more nimbler alternative would undermine the massive investments that companies …
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Navigating U.S.-China Rivalry: Africa’s Strategic Response in the Trump Era
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45:42The U.S.-China relationship is at a critical inflection point as Donald Trump tries to reset ties with his counterpart Xi Jinping. The U.S. President has repeatedly said he wants to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement that would, in his view, lead to a dramatic de-escalation of tensions. Unsurprisingly, China Hawks, many in his own government…
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Debate: Is China a Helpful or Horrible Trade Partner for Global South Countries?
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58:47At last week's Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi touted his country's 5% economic growth last year as a "benefit to the world" thanks to all of the trade it does with countries around the world. While countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, among other regions, are no doubt selling more raw materials to China, cri…
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The U.S. or China: South Africa May Soon Have to Choose
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50:27There is mounting evidence that indicates the United States government may force South Africa to make a once-unthinkable choice: it's either the U.S. or China, but it can't be both. The president addressed the issue this week and said, "the South Africa situation is very dangerous and very bad for a lot of people." The president and his supporters …
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[WEEK IN REVIEW] Who Gets to Tell the China-Africa Story?
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1:05:13Chinese engagement in Africa is seen by many people as a classic example of neo-colonial exploitation. China, according to the narrative, is merely the latest in a long line of predatory foreigners seeking to drain the continent's vast reserves of oil, minerals, and timber. The narrative that frames the Chinese as the aggressors and Africans as the…
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U.S. Aid Freeze Creates New Opening for China in Africa
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1:00:30The Trump administration's decision to issue a 90-day freeze on most foreign assistance around the world will have a disproportionate impact on a number of African countries that rely heavily on U.S. aid. The State Department's "stop work" order has led to the immediate termination of hundreds of aid programs across the continent, notably the hugel…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Role in the Panama Canal Controversy
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46:20When Donald Trump criticized Panama for its management of the canal that he claimed had fallen under Chinese control, many people at first thought this was just another round of Trump's usual bluster. But since his election last November, the President has been relentless in pressuring the government in Panama City and shows no signs of backing dow…
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Does Trump Help or Hurt China's Diplomacy in Africa?
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48:42Donald Trump roared back into power this week, signing dozens of executive orders on his first day that upended large parts of the U.S. foreign policy agenda. The president withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Accords and froze all new foreign aid initiatives. Ronak Gopaldas, a director at the African ris…
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Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the State Department, Marco Rubio, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week as part of the confirmation process. Rubio testified for more than three hours and made it very clear that confronting China is going to be his top priority when he moves into his 7th-floor offic…
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China and the Global South in the Trump 2.0 Era
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55:08On Monday, January 20th, Donald Trump will take the oath of office and return to power as president of the United States. Trump is promising to overhaul U.S. foreign and commercial policy in what many experts believe will mark the start of a very tumultuous period — not just for the United States but also for countries around the world. Sarah Shido…
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