ANGOLACHINA Big oil, high stakes 23rd October 2008 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Luanda is Beijing’s closest ally in Africa but mystery surrounds the role of Chinese companies in rebuilding the country Beijing may try to stay out of African politics but the rivalries among Angola’s elite leave its diplomats little choice. The latest row over China’s US$6 billion credit line to the Luanda government pitted two former intelligence chiefs against each other: General Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias ‘Kopelipa’, the former security advisor to President José Eduardo dos Santos, and General Fernando Garcia Miala, the long-time military intelligence director. Kopelipa is ahead on all counts.
ANGOLACHINA China's Nova Luanda 23rd October 2008 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site The China International Fund (CIF) appears to be the construction arm of Beiya International Development Ltd, the parent company of China Angola Oil Stock Holding Ltd, which tra...
NIGERIAASIA New order, new deals 23rd October 2008 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Asian companies face new rules and new relationships in Africa’s most prolific but politically complex oil producer Reforms in Nigeria’s oil sector, promised by Minister of State for Oil Odein Ajumogobia, will mean that some of the multibillion dollar deals with Asian companies will be re...
CHADCHINA The battle for Ndjamena 23rd October 2008 President Déby left Beijing with a clutch of deals after he had ditched Taipei – ‘for the survival of Chad’ Losing Chad has been a big setback for Taiwan’s plans in Africa. Chad had resumed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997. Merchandise trade had not been important for either ...
SOUTH AFRICAINDIA Hands across the water 23rd October 2008 The boom in Indian-South African relations is bringing together politicians, companies, and even Bollywood film stars and African actors. Both have their iconic statesmen –...
TAIWANAFRICA With friends like these... 23rd October 2008 As China’s commercial ties with Africa deepen, so Taiwan’s diplomatic links to the continent look ever more precarious As it loses the diplomatic and commercial competition with Beijing, the Taiwan government is casting around for new friends and a new strategy in Africa. Painfully aware of its u...
CONGO-KINSHASACHINA La grande bouffe 23rd October 2008 Belgium and the United States are still reeling from Kinshasa’s mid-September announcement that China is to invest more than US$8 billion in Congo-Kinshasa.
SUDANASIA Shifting sands 23rd October 2008 Khartoum’s côterie of Asian investors worry about a return to the North-South war China is trying to strengthen its diplomatic and commercial relations with Sudan despite the international opprobrium that those relations have attracted. Meanwhile, Khartoum&rs...
AFRICAASIA Charting Africa's Chinese future 23rd October 2008 by Chris Alden The extravagance on show at the China-Africa Summit in Beijing last November marked the beginning of a consolidation of ties between the two regions. Chinese and African leaders ...
INDIA Kamalesh Sharma 2nd November 2008 India's High Commissioner to Britain Kamalesh Sharma, the High Commisioner of India to Britain, is favourite to be the next Secretary General of the Commonwealth when New Zealand’s Don McKinnon finishes his second ...
SOUTH KOREA Ban Ki-moon 2nd November 2008 United Nations Secretary General When South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon became UN Secretary General in January, he pledged to reform UN management – and to make climate change and Sudan’s Darfur his top priorities.
CHINA Li Ruogu 2nd November 2008 President of the Export Import Bank of China Li Ruogu has been Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) since June 2005. With one Masters in Law from Beijing University and another in Public A...
CHINA Zhong Jianhua 2nd November 2008 China's Ambassador to South Africa The career of China’s new Ambassador to South Africa, Zhong Jianhua, hints at the importance Beijing places on its biggest trade partner in Africa. A graduate of the Beijing In...
