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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[WEEK IN REVIEW] Who Gets to Tell the China-Africa Story?
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Chinese 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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The 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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When 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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Donald 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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On 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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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wraps Up Low Key Africa Tour
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ended a four-nation Africa tour on Thursday that included stops in Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria. Other than a $255 million railway loan deal for Nigeria, there were very few other major announcements made during the week-long trip. But that's not a bad thing, according to Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy…
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Why Views About China Are So Different in the Global North and South
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China is deeply unpopular in the U.S., UK, Japan, and most other wealthy countries, and given the politics in those regions, there's no indication that's going to change anytime soon. It's a very different story, though, in large parts of developing Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East where public opinion surveys reveal generally favorab…
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旧的一年要过去,新的一年要来了。在这一集节目里,我跟大家介绍今年茶歇中文做的事情,还有我们明年的计划。 An old year passes and a new one is coming. In this episode, I will be presenting what TeaTime Chinese has done in the past year. Sponsors: italki: learn a language online ($10 coupon) NordVPN (70% off, code: teatime) Saily: eSim for your next holiday destination (5% off, code: teatime) Links: ◉ R…
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[DOUBLE EPISODE] 2024 China-Africa Year in Review
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2024 will be remembered as a seminal year in China-Africa relations with a rebound of Chinese lending to the continent and renewed diplomatic engagement in the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit that took place in Beijing. Africa also emerged again as a centerpiece in the U.S.-China duel as leaders from both major powers visited…
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第94集 : 一起读琼瑶的《陌生人》Read «The Stranger » by Chiung Yao
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2024年12月4日,中国作家琼瑶自杀。她一生写过许多言情小说。这些小说被做成电影和电视剧,广受国内外观众的喜爱。今天,Nathan和文嘉跟大家分享琼瑶的短篇小说《陌生人》。故事里,一个女孩认识了一个陌生人。慢慢地,两个人成为朋友。有一天,陌生人要离开。他要去哪里?他是谁? On December 4, 2024, the Chinese writer Chiung Yao committed suicide. She wrote many romance novels throughout her life, which were adapted into films and TV series, greatly loved by audiences both domestically a…
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Morocco is Now a Major Hub for Chinese Investment in Africa
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Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised a lot of people last month when he made an unannounced stopover in Morocco on his way home from the G20 summit in Brazil. The North African country doesn't often come to mind when considering China's key geopolitical partners in the MENA region... which is a mistake. Morocco is now a major manufacturing hub fo…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Don't Expect a Resolution to the South China Sea Crisis in 2025
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Tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea flared anew in December after another confrontation at sea. Soon after two vessels collided near the contested Scarborough Shoal, representatives from both sides took to the airwaves to blame the other for the latest incident. Both Chinese President Xi Jinpi…
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Why Some African Countries Welcome Trump's Return to Power
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Donald Trump will be back in the Oval Office in just over a month after he is inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president on January 20th. While there's concern in some African capitals that Trump may scale back U.S. engagement, there's also a sense of optimism in some countries that he will shake up the system in ways that will give African …
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] "Some Improvement" But Still a Long Way to Go to Resolve China-India Border Tensions
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India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the lower house of parliament last week that "some improvement" had been made in resolving the ongoing border dispute with China. But he also cautioned that a lot more work has to be done and that it will take years to "reset" relations with Beijing. The two sides have pulled back their military …
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Fact-Checking International Media Coverage of Biden's Africa Tour
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Joe Biden wrapped up a three-day trip to Cabo Verde and Angola this week, marking the first visit by a sitting U.S. President to Africa in almost ten years. Although Biden sought to lay out an expansive vision for U.S. foreign policy towards Africa, including increased U.S. funding for climate change mitigation, more humanitarian assistance, and ne…
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[WEEK IN REVIEW] China's Role in Africa's Energy Transition and Biden's Angola Trip
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The Sirexe “Salon International des Ressources Extractives et Energetiques” conference took place this week in the Ivory Coast and brought together ministers, policymakers and corporate leaders from across the continent to discuss Africa's energy transition. Géraud led the discussion about China's role in that process, both as a key supplier of new…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] China, Indonesia and the Great Power Competition for Transition Minerals
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is not a fan of the Biden administration's climate legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), describing it as a "green scam." Trump has promised to repeal it, which will undoubtedly be welcome news in Indonesia. Indonesia is home to the world's largest nickel reserves, a critical ingredient for manufa…
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第93集: 张骞和丝绸之路 Zhang Qian and the Silk Road
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很久以前,交通不便。就是有这么一些人,他们不愿意收到交通,地理的限制,一马当先,游历四海,成为著名的旅行家。张骞就是这样的一个人。他走过的路,今人叫做:丝绸之路。 Long ago when transportation wasn’t advanced, a group of people defied the limitations of transportation and geography. They set out for far, and travelled the oceans. They were great travelers. Zhang Qian is one of them. The road that he took is what we call “the Sil…
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Xi Took Center Stage at G20 While African Union Kept a Low Profile
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This week's G20 summit wrapped up much the same way previous G20 gatherings have in recent years, with a weak final communiqué and lots of discord among the group's members. But this year's summit in Rio de Janeiro was nonetheless notable as it marked the African Union's debut as an official member of the body. Chinese President Xi Jinping was also…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Is China Building a New Military Base in Cambodia? Maybe. Probably.
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Chinese contractors have been renovating the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia for the past two years, leading to widespread suspicion that the upgraded facility could eventually serve as a future outpost for the PLA Navy in Southeast Asia. Despite compelling evidence that Chinese naval forces have been stationed at the base for much of the year, both th…
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Chinese Lending to Africa is Way More Complicated Than You Think
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It's widely believed that Chinese lending to African countries is predominantly done by a few state policy banks, such as the China Exim Bank and the China Development Bank. While that was true in the past, today the situation is far more complicated. New research found that a diverse array of Chinese creditors are now active in Africa, including c…
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How Will Trump's Return to Power Impact China-Africa Ties?
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The re-election of former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to significantly alter U.S. foreign policy, including its approach to Africa. As seen during Trump’s first term, U.S. engagement with the continent is likely to decrease, with a stronger emphasis on countering China's expanding influence in the region. The future of the U.S.-Africa f…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Update on the State of the BRI in the New "Small and Beautiful" Era
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There's been a lot of talk in recent years about the new "small and beautiful" doctrine that now guides China's Belt and Road Initiative. The problem is that a lot of people still do not understand what it actually means in practice. President Xi Jinping first unveiled the concept at the Third Belt-and-Road Symposium in 2021 when he said that China…
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Chinese Companies Engage in Massive "Forest Looting" in the DR Congo
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Two Chinese logging companies are now the largest timber harvesters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with concessions sized at more than 3 million hectares. The firms, Wan Peng and Booming Green, are engaged in industrial-scale logging to export raw timber mostly back to China. But researchers at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)…
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[GLOBAL SOUTH] Power Shift: China’s Role in Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Transformation
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Even though the five countries in Central Asia are among the world's largest fossil fuel producers, the region faces chronic electricity shortages due to a lack of refining capacity. The energy crunch is further compounded by a reluctance to become overly dependent on Russian fuel. To solve both problems, several Central Asian governments are looki…
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Stymied in the West, Chinese EV Brands Look to Expand in Africa
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Just over a million new vehicles were sold in Africa last year, a relatively small number given the continent's enormous population, estimated at 1.5 billion. Chinese auto brands are looking at that discrepancy and think it provides a unique opportunity for rapid expansion, particularly in the budding electric vehicle market. BAIC Motors, BYD, Xpen…
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