CHINAAFRICA Beijing’s new team starts work 4th December 2012 A woman walks past a hording displaying propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party. Qilai Shen / Panos Image courtesy of Panos Pictures Xi Jinping’s government will gradually switch from export-led growth to focus on domestic investment but will still need Africa’s oil and minerals The character of the new all-male leadership of China’s Communist Party announced on 15 November will prove at least as important for Africa’s political and business elite as the United States presidential elections held a week earlier. The reason is economics: bilateral trade between China and Africa increased to US$127.3 billion by the end of 2011 from just $8 bn. in 2000. US trade with Africa hit a record $104.1 bn. in 2008 but fell to $94.3 bn. in 2011. China’s gross domestic product increased fourfold during the past decade under the outgoing government of President Hu Jintao.
ZIMBABWECHINA Adapt or die 4th December 2012 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site A delegation of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Provincial Chairmen was in Beijing ahead of the historic 8 November Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conference and sea...
CHINAAFRICA China Sonangol shows its hand 4th December 2012 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Alain Fanaie, the former head of infrastructure and commodities at France’s Crédit Agricole, China Sonangol is making moves towards...
CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Mining companies face more scrutiny 4th December 2012 Pressure is mounting on Kinshasa to publish details of the payments it receives from Chinese state mining companies President Joseph Kabila’s beleaguered government in Kinshasa faces growing pressure from local authorities and civic activists to step up scrutiny of Chinese mining companies in th...
ZIMBABWEASIA Asian ambassadors offer economic advice 4th December 2012 Jettisoning their traditional reticence, Asian ambassadors to Zimbabwe are now advising the government on how to turn around the economy, build infrastructure and attract foreign i...
NIGERIACHINABRIEFING More dam delays 4th December 2012 Two new large dams will be built before President Goodluck Jonathan’s first presidential term expires in 2015, according to the government. The companies constructing the dams, how...
CONGO-KINSHASAINDIA Chemical of Africa in Lubumbashi pollution row 4th December 2012 A dispute over pollution in Katanga between Chemical of Africa – an Indian company based in Dubai – and local miners and non-governmental organisations may hit Chemaf’s expansion p...
SOUTH AFRICABRIEFINGBRICS Tshwane sets agenda for BRICS summit 4th December 2012 South Africa will hold the Fifth Summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group on 27 March 2013 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban...
JAPANAFRICABRIEFING Tokyo’s Africa aid birthday 4th December 2012 The Japan International Cooperation Agency celebrated twenty years of international assistance to African countries at the United Nations University on 30 November. JICA’s African ...
ZIMBABWEINDIA Political diamonds 4th December 2012 Harare has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in tax from diamond smuggling: some of it will end up financing next year’s election campaign The row over Zimbabwe’s missing diamond revenues will be at the centre of political campaigning ahead of next year’s general elections. Anti-corruption activists are accusing India...
LIBERIACHINABRIEFING China Union under fire in Bong County 4th December 2012 China Union’s plan to relocate six villages near the Bong iron mine has been met with anger from the people of Lower Bong County, posing yet another threat to the development of th...
SUDAN Awad Ahmed el Jaz 4th December 2012 Petroleum Minister, Sudan Awad Ahmed el Jaz is a stalwart of the National Congress Party (formerly National Islamic Front, NIF), Sudan’s ruling party since 1989. He has played a critical role in both the de...
JAPAN Isao Matsumiya 4th December 2012 Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan After an earthquake and tsunami devastated its eastern coastline and caused meltdowns at the Fukushima reactors in March 2011, Japan shut down all but two of its nuclear power plan...
NIGERIA Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi 4th December 2012 Minister of State for Power, Nigeria Only weeks into her new role as Minister of State for Power, Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi announced a major project to address Nigeria’s chronic power shortfall. In early November, she rev...
INDIA Anil Sardana 4th December 2012 Managing Director, Tata Power Anil Sardana is looking overseas to escape the constraints Indian markets place on his company. In April 2012, Tata Power formed a joint venture, Cennergi, with South Africa’s Exx...
