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US needn’t be too concerned about China’s basing ambitions in Africa — study

Despite regular warnings by US military commanders about a possible second Chinese military base in Sub-Saharan Africa and rumors about new footholds in countries like Equatorial Guinea, China’s strategic interest in Africa is relatively low, especially when compared with regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, according to a new policy brief published by […]

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China-Africa digital services hub focused on facilitating trade established in Hunan

China-Africa digital services hub focused on facilitating trade established in Hunan China’s Hunan province has unveiled a China-Africa Digital Services Hub that focuses on cross-border communications support and data-sharing between Chinese companies working in Africa. The China-Africa economic and trade digitalization service based in Changsha, the provincial capital, aims to support Chinese companies’ trade with […]

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Africa-China trade in 2022 surges, dwarfing commerce with US

Africa’s bilateral trade with China surged to a record high in 2022, highlighting how Beijing’s commercial influence over the continent continues to dwarf that of the United States. Beijing’s push to promote imports from Africa and rising commodity prices pushed trade up 11% to $282 billion last year. China’s exports to Africa were $164.49 billion, […]

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Namibia rhino poaching surges to record level, blame on cross-border syndicates

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached the highest level on record in 2022, as twice as many animals — 87 compared to 45 — were killed in 2021, official government data showed on Monday (30 January). Africa’s rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, […]

Africa Business Headlines International

‘Africa is no one’s pawn’, says AU chief, as top US, Chinese, Russian officials tour continent

Top American, Chinese and Russian officials — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — are all scrambling to visit several African nations in January to pledge their countries’ commitment to the world’s fastest-growing continent. As President Joe Biden prepares for a visit to Africa later […]

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South Africa, China, Russia to hold joint naval drills in February

South Africa, China and Russia will jointly stage naval drills in February to strengthen the already flourishing relations between the three countries. The African country will host the training. “South Africa will host the Chinese and Russian Federation navies in a multilateral maritime exercise between February 17 and 27,” the South African military confirmed in […]

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China, Benin ink deal on partial debt cancellation

China and Benin signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on partial debt cancellation Saturday during the visit of the Chinese top diplomat Qin Gang to the African country. Qin said his visit was to “identify more fields of action”, Africa News reports. “China intends to work together with Benin to implement the projects agreed by […]

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Africa should not serve as arena for global contests — China’s foreign minister

Africa should not be an arena for international competition between world powers, China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday while inaugurating the new headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a pan-African health body. Qin is on a five-nation African tour, a week after bidding farewell to Washington, D.C., […]

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South Africa vows to use BRICS chair role to advance African interests

South Africa will use its chairmanship of the BRICS group of leading emerging economies — comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — to focus on advancing African interests, the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has said. South Africa has just taken over the chairmanship of the BRICS — a bloc widely seen as an […]

Africa International

Djibouti inks $1bn deal with Hong Kong company to build rocket launch site

Djibouti has inked a preliminary technological cooperation agreement with Chinese multinational Hong Kong Aerospace Technology to build a $1bn satellite and rocket launch site which could see the launch of the first Africa-made satellite from the African continent. The deal with the Hong Kong-based company, which was signed by Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, includes […]