SOUTH AFRICAASIA South Africa looks east 30th June 2012 Rogan Ward/AMO / Panos Image courtesy of Panos Pictures Lethargy in US and European markets has pushed the ANC government to fast-track deeper ties with Asia, but not everyone is convinced that it will work European officials expressed anger in early June about the governing African National Congress’s new strategy to sideline South Africa’s traditional trading allies and forge closer ties with India and China. ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe announced in late May that South Africa would not focus on trade with Europe but on stronger economic and diplomatic ties with the BRICS group – Brazil, Russia, India and China. The move is running into strong headwinds because of differences over and opposition to the policy inside and outside the ANC’s Tripartite Alliance (ANC, Congress of South African Trade Unions – Cosatu – and South African Communist Party).
SOUTH AFRICAASIA Partnerships, promises and failures 30th June 2012 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Despite the billions of dollars in investment that President Jacob Zuma’s ‘Look East’ policy could potentially deliver, Asian investment in South Africa has already yielded many promises, few...
ZIMBABWECHINA Parting gifts 30th June 2012 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site As new national elections loom, both parties in Zimbabwe’s coalition government are building stronger ties with Beijing China’s new Ambassador Lin Lin takes up his post in Harare this month. Ambassador Lin follows the outgoing Xin Shunkang, who completed a highly successful two-and-a-half-year tour of...
SENEGALASIA President Sall’s priorities 30th June 2012 Macky Sall is auditing the government of his predecessor and choosing which of his projects the new government will pursue Macky Sall will celebrate his first 100 days in office in July. The new President is making discrete changes to relations with Asian countries established under his predecessor,...
BENINCHINABRIEFING Union takes government and China to task 30th June 2012 Benin’s Syndicat national des travailleurs de l’administration des transports et des travaux publics (Syntra-Ttp) is leading public calls for African governments to hold Chinese construction companies to account...
PAKISTANAFRICABRIEFING Traders, Ambassadors and Islamists 30th June 2012 Pakistan’s engagement with Africa is struggling to get off the ground. While the government is launching its first serious efforts at summitry, boosting trade and improving continental diplomacy,...
GABONSINGAPORE This land is not your land 30th June 2012 An agribusiness company’s projects across the country are facing opposition from local people and civil society groups Singapore’s Olam is riding a new wave of opposition to its industrial agriculture and fertiliser projects. Criticism of state-backed projects from inside the governing Parti Démocratique Gabonais is...
MADAGASCARCHINABRIEFING Miner’s missing millions 30th June 2012 Prime Minister Jean-Omer Beriziky says that Chinese investors are angry about the treatment they have received from the government. Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation executives vociferously point out...
CHINAAFRICABRIEFING A matter of private equity 30th June 2012 Africa’s top private equity firms are in talks with their Chinese counterparts to channel a new wave of investment into African companies. On 16 June, Vincent Le Guennou,...
GABONCHINA Bélinga back on the table 30th June 2012 The Gabonese government reconfirmed in early June that it is open to discussions with all interested parties on the development of the Bélinga iron ore mine that...
ALGERIACHINABRIEFING Hang up and call later 30th June 2012 On 6 June, Algeria’s courts ruled that Chinese telecoms companies Huawei and ZTE are banned from participating in public tenders due to their inappropriate relationship with a former...
KENYA Stephen Kalonzo Mususyoka 30th June 2012 Vice-President, Kenya In Beijing in late May, Kenyan Vice-President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka called for more investment in services. Vice-President Xi Jinping, who is likely to become China’s next leader at...
EGYPT Mohammed Mursi 30th June 2012 President, Egypt Too pragmatic for the Salafists, too conservative for secularists, Mohammed Mursi will walk a thin line after winning the presidency on 24 June.
CHINA Cai Fuchao 30th June 2012 Director, SARFT, China In late June, Mozambique was the first stop on Cai Fuchao’s three-nation tour that also took in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
TUNISIA Moncef Marzouki 30th June 2012 President, Tunisia On 31 May, Tunisia hosted the fifth China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Hammamet. For China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, it was the first such meeting since the Arab Spring...