Vol 4 (AAC) No 7 | CHINAAFRICA Give without counting 13th May 2011 The Chinese government is slowly changing its aid reporting statistics so that its programmes can be compared to those of other donors It began with ‘China is a developing country’ and ended by shedding some – but not much – light on Beijing’s global aid programmes. In April, China’s State...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 7 | MADAGASCARCHINA Making room for friends 13th May 2011 London-listed Madagascar Oil’s battles with the Malagasy government are heating up. The two sides are now heading for international arbitration. The dispute arose when the Haute Autorité de...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 7 | ZIMBABWECHINASINGAPORE Trucks, triads and subs 13th May 2011 Few believe the official explanation that 87-year-old President Robert Mugabe’s frequent visits to Singapore are to monitor his February cataract operation or that he is being the doting...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 7 | CHINA Li Changchun 13th May 2011 Member, CCP Central Committee Politburo Standing Committee The Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda chief was in Kenya and Mozambique in late April, forging better links with their ruling parties and media. He took his message of...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | ZIMBABWECHINA Trading partners 15th April 2011 New indigenisation rules mean that European mining companies are on the way out while Asian companies are protected by their allies in Harare Robert Mugabe’s pet policies are souring the milk of friendship he shares with China. Chinese Deputy Premier Wang Qishan visited Harare in late March with a basket of financial support....
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | ZIMBABWECHINA Sino-Zimbabwe in the Marange diamond fields 15th April 2011 The Kimberley Process suspended diamond sales from Marange in 2009 due to concerns about transparency in the production chain and the illicit activities of the security services in the region,...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | MALAWICHINATAIWAN What the doctor ordered 15th April 2011 The corruption trial of Malawi’s former President Bakili Muluzi at the Blantyre High Court exposes the lack of transparency and good governance in Taiwan’s aid to African countries. Bakili Muluzi,...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | ZAMBIACHINA One law for Zambians, another for Chinese 15th April 2011 Michael Sata of the opposition Patriotic Front says: ‘Under Rupiah, there are two laws: one for Chinese and one for other investors.’ He was reacting to news that Zambia’s Director...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Old debts and new deals 15th April 2011 Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal will decide this month whether FG Hemisphere, a United States-based vulture fund, is entitled to seize US$100 million from payments due to the Congolese...
Vol 4 (AAC) No 6 | CHINA Wang Tianpu 15th April 2011 President, China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) When Sinopec Chairman Su Shulin stepped down this month, President Wang Tianpu was the favourite to take over China’s second-largest oil company, but his rise may be stymied. In a...