Asia is responding to President Robert Mugabe’s calls for solidarity in the time of cholera – but not in the way that Harare had envisaged. The economic meltdown...

Ideological rather than commercial motives led to the 2003 launch of Zimbabwe’s ‘Look East’ policy, but as the country’s economic position has deteriorated, Harare has tried to woo...

The provincial leaders who have driven China’s economic boom and commercial charge into Africa insist that history is on their side. Ancient China’s Emperors – powerful as they...

The twinning of provinces and cities in China and Africa is central to Beijing’s strategy of allowing provinces to take a lead role in trade matters. For Beijing,...

The diplomatic battles between China and Taiwan – often played out on African soil – are on hold. There is no formal truce yet because China’s strategists...

Worsening international economic conditions, tighter credit lines and Nigeria’s weak industrial policy have led to a sharp cutback in the US$3.3 billion cement manufacturing deal between China’s Sinoma...

Sadako Ogata, President of the newly reorganised Japan International Cooperation Agency, says that the JICA is now the best funded national development agency in the world. Her job,...

China’s billion dollar contracts in Congo are at the centre of a new propaganda front in rebel General Laurent Nkunda’s war against President Joseph Kabila’s government in Kinshasa....

Though the Dalai Lama has recently hinted at retirement, his capacity to ruffle China’s feathers is undiminished. His lecture in Lagos, Nigeria, on 28 November passed without incident...

The 26 November terrorist attacks in Mumbai that left 164 people dead and more than 300 wounded took place during General Deepak Kapoor’s African goodwill tour, but he...

In August 2008, the sun shone brightly on the Beijing Olympics. With Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping providing behind-the-scenes muscle, the government forced factory closures and enacted draconian traffic...

In August 2008, the sun shone brightly on the Beijing Olympics. With Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping providing behind-the-scenes muscle, the government forced factory closures and enacted draconian traffic...

The catastrophic failure in November of Nigeria’s US$340 million, Chinese-built satellite NIGCOMSAT-1, launched only a year ago, is the latest, most visible indication of increasing difficulties...

International financial realities did not deter the 21 African delegations to the second Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Conference (KOAFEC), held in Seoul on 27-30 October. At the inaugural meeting two years ago,...

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s desire to put an end to ‘dollar diplomacy’ (AAC Vol 1 No 11) has been put to the test by his counterparts in Burkina...

The International Monetary Fund has given Kinshasa a stark choice: the Bretton Woods financial institutions or the Chinese. On a visit in September, an IMF delegation led by...

Second in command of China’s Communist Party Wu Bangguo has just completed a tour of Algeria, Gabon, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Seychelles from 3-14 November. He visited the allies in rough...

South Korea has been hit hard by the financial crisis and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo has organised a US$11 billion stimulus package. He is maintaining the commitments he made at...

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak wants more trade with India. During his 16-19 November trip to New Delhi, he marketed Egypt as a gateway to Africa and an attractive investment in...

Many European Union diplomats believe their continent’s influence is being sidelined as China boosts its investments and profile in Africa. One man in the European Commission is working to channel those...

p>Chen Yuan is one of the ’princelings’, as children of Mao Zedong’s revolutionary compatriots are known. His father, Chen Yi, was a key player in the Communist revolution,...

Washington politicians are re-evaluating the significance for United States' policy in Africa in light of China's increasing engagement with the continent. On 4 June, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee...

South Africa's mobile telephone giant MTN risks losing its second Indian suitor as a schism in India's richest family could prevent the deal's signing. A merger between the US$38 bn....

In late May, a deal was signed to create MCX Africa, a pan-African commodities exchange to be located in Gaborone, Botswana. The exchange is the brainchild of Jignesh...

Francisco Ou became Taiwan's Foreign Minister on 20 May, as the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party, KMT), in opposition for eight years, returned to executive power on the back of Ma Ying-jeou's...

Japan is launching major changes in its diplomatic and development strategy this year, coinciding with Yokohama's hosting of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) from...

Before 1998, Japanese voters would have had some difficuty in identifying any difference in Africa policy among the three main parties. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ, Minshutu) admits that even...

Angola and China are to set up a'new model partnership'. This will involve the'sharing of risks' and will'complement existing models', said Gao Jian, Vice-Governor of the China Development Bank (CDB) on...

Kinshasa's Commission Ministérielle Chargée de la Revisitation des Contrats Miniers has revised the terms of China's biggest contract in Congo-Kinshasa, signed with the joint venture Sicomines, as part of a wider...

Facing a growing demand for agricultural products while its wealthy business people seek new opportunities, Chinese companies are searching for investments in Africa that go beyond energy and mineral...

Largely overshadowed by the family name and media attention devoted to Sunil Bharti Mittal, Akhil Gupta is Bharti Airtel's other Managing Director. Mittal is credited with the vision,...

Malaysia's Rimbunan Hijau is the international logging company whose activities have fuelled Asian construction for 30 years. Despite heated criticism from environmental groups, Tiong Hiew King has become one of...

Masato Kitera is a typical example of the dependable civil servants that Japan has assigned to its Africa projects in advance of TICAD IV, to be held in...

In a direct challenge to established Western interests and the continent's growing ties with China and Japan, India is promising to invest heavily in Africa's transport, energy and manufacturing sectors as...

India has defined Africa as part of its wider strategic interest and is concerned about nuclear rival China's encroachment on what it perceives as its'wider sphere of influence' along...

Indian Commerce Minister Jairam Ramesh cut a deal with Endiama, Angola's state-owned diamond company, to facilitate the direct sale of stones to India by mid-2009. India is also...

A sizable and much-ballyhooed credit line looks to be little more than a goodwill gesture from China to Nigeria, promising much but delivering little. The brief fanfare attached to the initial...

With just a month to go before the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) on 28-30 May, the Japanese hosts are busily firming proposals that will both...

When China evacuated 400 construction workers from Mongomo in Equatorial Guinea in early April, it marked the culmination of a labour dispute with a difference. In several African countries, notably Zambia...

As the man responsible for coordinating the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development scheduled for May 28-30, Ambassador Nobutake Odano has covered a lot of miles in...

Wang Yi has been appointed President of Sinosure, China's export credit insurance agency, after he resigned as General Manager of the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) on...

Ambassador to Africa’s biggest oil producer, Xu Jianguo has presided over a rapid expansion of commercial and diplomatic ties since his posting to Abuja in September 2006. Chinese...

In Asia’s rush to develop relations with Africa, South Korea is trying to catch up with its East Asian rivals, Japan and China. Dignitaries attending the Korea-Africa Economic...

Japan is increasing its diplomatic presence in southern Africa following the successful Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) IV in May. Until this year, Japan’s Embassy in...

Jairam Ramesh’s career has taken him to the top of government and politics in India. Now he has expanded his remit to economic relations with Africa. On 6-7...

SINOSURE: China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) was established in December 2001 through a merger between the People's Insurance Company of China and the insurance arms of China Exim Bank....

CHINA EXIM BANK: Established in 1994 under the Policy Banks Law, China Exim Bank is currently the third largest export credit agency in the world. China Exim Bank is tasked...

China Exim Bank and Sinosure are together expected to become the world's largest export credit agencies by 2010, according to the Export-Import Bank of the United States, just two decades after...

Tokyo's careful diplomacy ahead of the Hokkaido G8 summit the 7-9 July now faces its biggest test among African states: how can Japan explain its stance at the next round...

Beijing's multi-billion dollar plans for Congo-Kinshasa are hitting new obstacles as questions are being asked about the transparency of the new deals and the behaviour of Chinese companies on the ground....

Indian peacekeepers in the United Nations' troubled mission in Congo-Kinshasa face a new investigation - this time into claims that a senior officer has publicly declared his support for Tutsi rebels....

Relations between Angola and China are steaming ahead, despite the wishful thinking of some Western diplomats. China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visited Luanda on 23 June and signed an agreement for...

An experienced diplomat, Wirajuda is well-known in regional politics. His country's membership in several multilateral organizations frequently takes him into the African orbit. Wirajuda visited Kenya from 19-20 June. After meeting...

The sixty-year-old from Mangalore is revered in business circles for transforming a small lender, ICICI Bank, into a dynamic private enterprise. He joined ICICI in 1971, working in project finance and...

A specialist in the Middle East and North Africa, Zhai is responsible for China's West Asian and African relations. The Hebei native joined the Foreign Ministry after finishing university and...

The CADF has passed its first birthday. Announced to much fanfare at the 2006 China-Africa summit, it was formally established in June 2007 by the China Development Bank. The 50-year...

In many ways, the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on 28-30 May was a dry run for Tokyo's Group of 8 summit in Hokkaido...

Behind the Yokohama summit scenery, Japanese civil servants continued with their reorganisation. Key to this is the Japan International Cooperation Agency under its President, Sadako Ogata, the driving force behind the...

From now on, Japan's non-governmental organisations will operate more like British NGOs such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, which manage substantial state aid funds. Local NGOs were barely represented at...

An island at the heart of Southeast Asia and a landlocked state in the heart of Africa are an unlikely couple. Singapore has skyscrapers and strict discipline, Rwanda has its...

President S.R. Nathan: took office in 1997, and in April 2007 became the first Singaporean President to go to Africa, with state visits to South Africa, Namibia...

Confidential reports by the United Nations contain 44 allegations against the Indian battalion based in Congo-Kinshasa's North Kivu province and known as INDBATT. The main report, dated 7 February 2008, describes...

Three Indian officers'would not be spared' if they were found to have smuggled gold while serving with the United Nations in Congo-Kinshasa, India's Defence Minister A. K. Antony said after ordering...

Agreements signed this month between Dangote Industries of Nigeria and China's Sinoma International Engineering Company to build 13 cement production lines across Africa at a cost of US$2.8 billion will give...

After a long courtship India's biggest car manufacturers are looking for rapid expansion in African markets. Indian vehicle makers are bullish on Africa and engaged in steadily expanding their reach to...

Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT) finally has something to show for his consistent performance as one of Japan's biggest proponents in Africa with the opening of the...

Mali is not the only Francophone West African country courted by Japan. President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal was invited, along with the Presidents of Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania to...

The appointment of a new Prime Minister in São Tomé e Príncipe could herald a reverse for Taiwan, according to regional diplomatic sources, who say political and commercial considerations are pushing the government...

Taiwan's Presidential elections on 22 March have delayed the appointment of Taipei's new ambassadors to Gambia and São Tomé e Príncipe. Taipei may also be waiting to see what comes...

India needs coal to fire up its growth, freight rates from Australia's mines have soared, and India's own coal-mines are crippled by price controls and labour regulations. So importers are...

Tension and recriminations continue to mark relations between Zambian workers and Chinese investors, two months after the end of a two-day strike at a US$200 million copper smelting...

Why are China's importers of raw materials so interested in Africa rather than other continents, such as Latin America? Latin America's natural resources are largely controlled by giant companies from...

At the end of May, Justin Yifu Lin will succeed France's François Bourguignon as Chief Economist at the World Bank. The Peking University professor will be the first economist from a developing...

Born in Busan in 1959, Lee attended the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in public administration. He joined the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1978 and held posts in the...

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia n A native of Semarang, Central Java, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, 56, holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology, and master's...

Hailing from Ca Mau, the southernmost province of Vietnam, Dung joined the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (aka the Viet Cong) in 1961. He was 12 years...

India is seeking to carve out a distinct relationship with Africa, as part of a new competition for resources and diplomatic support, Foreign Ministry officials in New Delhi have said,...

Faced with a uranium shortage at home, Indian companies are beginning to looking to African uranium producers to meet the country’s civilian and military needs, according to industry sources....

Chinese peacekeepers in Southern Sudan have been awarded United Nations Peacekeeping Medals two months early to coincide with the Lunar New Year Spring Festival, celebrated on 7 February. Events in Chad...

The new Defence Ministry building in Accra is under construction by Chinese contractors. Chinese companies built the Tamale and Sekondi stadiums, which were used in February’s 2008 African...

A combination of strong economic growth and institutional neglect of investment in infrastructure has created a serious problem: South Africa, the continent’s largest and most developed economy, is running...

In the elite circles of Singaporean business, certain names frequently recur. Suppiah ‘S’ Dhanabalan, Chairman of Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government, is one of them....

Namibia Construction and South Africa's Murray & Roberts claim that a N$74.4 million (US$9.5 mn.) contract awarded last year to China Nanjing International for the construction of a new headquarters for...

Until public protests over Darfur two years ago, Japan was one of the biggest customers for Sudanese oil. But unlike China and India it had no direct investments in Sudan's...

India's defence minister A. K. Antony has ordered 'prompt and time-bound' investigations into charges of child sexual abuse by 60 of its soldiers deployed to the Mission des Nations Unies en...

An experienced Africanist, Sharma's appointment as a Deputy Minister in the Foreign Ministry shows how seriously India is taking its new Africa strategy.

A new player treads the boards of the African stage: Li Jinjun, Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's Party's Central Committee. The party's International Department forges...

Zambia's relations with India go back a century to colonial rule under Britain, when people from the subcontinent were recruited by the colonial authorities as civil servants and others set up...

Just a day after he was elected by the Diet, Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso flew to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. Although he does...

Japanese companies in Africa are struggling to increase their market share against pressure from Chinese and Western firms, a new survey by the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO) has found. Some...

Japan would honour its promises to increase aid and investment in Africa despite the departure of Prime Miniter Yasuo Fukuda, said Foreign Minister Shintaro Ito during a trip to Kenya this...

The opportunities for African states to benefit from the bidding war between Taiwan and China are almost over. Taipei officials believe that 'dollar diplomacy' has failed: Taipei has lost...

China's activities in Congo-Kinshasa began with mining, moved into infrastructure and are now more ambitious still: they are diversifying into national development planning. Relations were strengthened by President Joseph Kabila's visit for...

As long as it lasts, the diamond boom may help Japanese companies. They are well placed to take advantage of the decision by state diamond company Endiama that more than...

A new phase in China's relations with Sudan began on 1 September when Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun inaugurated the new Chinese Consulate in Juba. This was an historic move...

An experienced negotiator at the head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Supachai Panitchpakdi unveiled the agency's annual global survey on 2 September at Britain's London School of...

Alongside the United Nations Operations in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), South Korea's Choi Young-jin is working to implement the peace process outlined in the Ouagadougou accord of March 2007, signed by President...

With its coal reserves due to last only another 40 to 45 years, India is taking steps to increase its coal imports to meet rising domestic consumption. Spearheading the...

Huawei is China's largest producer of telecommunications equipment, built by an enigmatic figure, Ren Zhengfei. Born in 1944, Ren attended Chongqing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

African states are competing to host China's special economic zones in the expectation they will bring in billions of dollars of investments and create tens of thousands of jobs -in...

Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam began negotiations to make his country China's second special economic zone at the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing in November 2006, after the Indian...

Kenya finally has succeeded in bringing together rival suitors for an oil refinery rehabilitation contract - but failed to secure an agreement. The acting Finance Minister, John Michuki,...

Talks on a complex three-party investment deal between China and Angola and the ailing Air Tanzania Company are nearing conclusion, officials have confirmed in Dar es Salaam. The aim...

Table

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited South Africa on 7 January 2008 to deepen a relationship which has been elevated to a ‘strategic dialogue’. The visit was to...

Angola's Finance Ministry has strengthened its policy to promote greater transparency in public finances, with the disclosure of new details about Chinese credit lines that support an array of projects...

China’s trade with Africa is to reach US$117 billion this year, according to an internal report by Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID). China will also be...

The European Union’s Africa policy is in a shambles after the diplomatic disaster of the Economic Partnership Agreements, the multilateral trade accords which so many African states have...

Officials from Guinea’s Ministry of Mines are due in Beijing to negotiate a US$21 billion countertrade deal to swap bauxite and iron ore concessions for investments in dams,...

Seoul’s Africa summit on 27-30 October is smaller than the grand Japan-Africa, China-Africa or India-Africa events of the last five years, but it demonstrates the importance of Africa...

Seoul is using its expertise in information and communications technologies (ICT) to break into Africa’s growing high-tech market. Korea Telecom has a US$38 million contract with the Rwandan...

Accelerating China-Africa trade and diplomatic relations are the dominant topic in the Africa-Asia nexus – even if India and Japan have taken the spotlight with grand African summits...

India’s navy hosted its first Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Delhi in February to promote cooperation amongst 26 states in the region. Its aim was to foster...

South African companies are pushing into India’s markets. So far, the traffic has been one-way with Indian manufacturing companies such as Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, and pharmaceuticals...

After a spate of high-profile contract awards, local contractors are accusing their Chinese competitors of using political influence and state subsidies from Beijing to dominate Zambia’s construction market....

Indian diamond traders are being forced to import rough diamonds directly from overseas suppliers after South Africa-based De Beers, the world’s largest supplier, recently slashed the number of...

It could be another three years before China launches its US$3 billion investment into Katanga’s vast reserves of copper and cobalt, according to Congolese mining officials who met their counterparts...

The thwarted voyage of the An Yue Jiang – a Chinese freighter with a cargo of ammunition, mortars, mines and artillery bound for President Robert Mugabe’s government –...

China is worried about the 'deadlock' in Darfur and is looking for new ideas, its Special Representative for Africa and Darfur, Liu Guijin, told a leading Sudanese civic...

Britain’s Conservative Party, which has been campaigning against the Sudan government’s Darfur policy, faces charges of hypocrisy after it accepted more than US$800,000 in contributions from a United...