China

As the graft wars intensify between factions of the Algerian government, several officials are appearing in court in connection with irregularities on contracts with Chinese companies in the East-West Highway project....

A storm is gathering over attempts by China’s Zijin Mining Group to buy Platmin Congo without prior approval from President Joseph Kabila’s government, despite generally good Beijing-Kinshasa relations....

There are two big problems with the new deal between the China International Fund and the small Australian mining company Bellzone announced in Conakry on 24 May to...

Chinese arms are affordable options for African militaries looking to upgrade, and the advisors of the People’s Liberation Army are ready to meet that demand. On 23-31 May,...

Xia Huang’s short tenure as Ambassador to Niger has been anything but uneventful. Since his arrival in Niamey in November 2009, Xia has contended with a coup that...

Equal measures of optimism and scepticism greeted China’s announcement of an agreement to build three oil refineries worth US$23 billion. The terms of the memorandum of understanding are clear; the...

When Gabon’s President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba was alive, his ministers had nothing but praise for the nearly US$4 billion Bélinga iron ore mine and associated logistics projects, described...

Beijing’s relationship with the China International Fund is much clearer than it likes to admit. When the Hong Kong-registered CIF signed multibillion-dollar deals with pariah regimes in Guinea...

Oppositionist Michael Sata’s rhetoric against China is not slowing down Chinese investment plans ahead of Zambia’s national elections, which are due in 2011. Chinese companies operating Zambian mines will now have...

The China-Africa Development Fund’s expansion plans moved a step forward with the opening of a new branch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 30 March. The office will pursue greater cooperation...