First Independent Mena Newspaper
China’s exports to Africa have soared by 25% in the first eight months of 2025, reaching US$140.8 billion, as Beijing redirects trade flows amid escalating U.S. tariffs under President Trump’s renewed trade war. Faced with U.S. import duties as high as 100% on electric vehicles and 50% on solar products, Chinese firms are finding fertile […]
In a renewed show of diplomatic and strategic alignment, Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the Republic of Congo a “reliable and time-tested friend,” highlighting the Central African nation as a key entry point for Moscow’s growing influence across the continent. The statement came during Putin’s recent meeting with Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso in […]
African students pursuing education abroad are facing heightened scrutiny as the United States and United Kingdom ramp up enforcement of immigration compliance, raising concerns about travel equity and academic opportunity. In the U.K., the Home Office has launched a campaign warning tens of thousands of international students — many from Africa — about overstaying visas. […]
Africa is rapidly emerging as China’s most dynamic export market, fueled by a combination of shifting global trade dynamics, aggressive Chinese investment, and growing demand for infrastructure. As Bloomberg calculations based on China Customs data have revealed, in the first seven months of 2025 alone, Chinese exports to Africa soared 25% year-on-year to $122 billion […]
Burkina Faso has received a significant shipment of Chinese-manufactured military equipment, marking a notable step in its armed forces’ modernization and further consolidating Beijing’s growing defense footprint across Africa. The delivery, unveiled via social media and confirmed by defense analysts, includes VN22B wheeled fire support vehicles, PLL-05 120mm self-propelled gun-mortars, and SR5 multiple rocket launch […]
African nations are racing against time to renegotiate trade terms with the United States, as sweeping tariffs — initially set to begin 1 August — now loom for 7 August following a last-minute executive order by President Donald Trump. Trump’s latest executive order slaps a uniform 15% tariff on most African exports — threatening industries […]
China has announced plans to eliminate tariffs on nearly all imports from 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic ties, extending a previous policy that offered zero-tariff treatment to only 33 least-developed African nations. The announcement was made during a ministerial meeting in China’s city of Changsha, as African leaders gathered to review the […]
Amid a deepening U.S.-China trade war, Beijing has issued a stern warning to nations — particularly in Africa — not to strike trade deals with the United States “at the expense of China’s interests,” raising the stakes for countries already grappling with economic strain. China’s Ministry of Commerce declared it “will never accept it and […]
As tensions surge between the world’s two largest economies, China is ramping up its global diplomacy, holding strategic talks with Saudi Arabia and South Africa to counterbalance the United States’ sweeping new tariffs. China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao recently held virtual meetings with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, focusing on responses to […]
China’s top diplomat has embarked on his traditional New Year tour of Africa that will take him to Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria, aiming to further advance Beijing’s already sizable influence across the resource-rich continent amid dwindling Western influence. The week-long tour by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi marks 35 consecutive years […]