Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING ICBC's toe in African waters 26th June 2009 The October 2007 merger between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank, and Standard Bank, South Africa's largest, is finally showing its potenti...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CHINA Zhang Ming 26th June 2009 Director General of African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Zhang Ming rose to his position through the West Asia and North Africa Department of China's Foreign Affairs Ministry, which he joined in the early 1980s. Postings at the embass...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | ZAMBIACHINAINDIA A shake-out after the crash 22nd May 2009 China and India want to snap up assets as metal markets hit the floor and the mining houses sack workers Western mining houses are pulling out of Zambia due to the copper price slump, leaving Chinese and Indian investors to battle over the abandoned assets. As the copper price crash...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | ANGOLACHINA Oil, votes and Beijing 22nd May 2009 As Luanda tries to shore up its finances as export revenues tumble, China’s offer of credit becomes more important The combination of lower world oil prices, tighter credit and production cuts has increased Luanda's reliance on its countertrade credits with China. As Angola holds the presiden...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | CHINAAFRICA Not the promised land 22nd May 2009 China would not be taking up tracts of land in Africa to meet its domestic food requirements insisted Beijing's Deputy Agriculture Minister Niu Dun in April, but reports on the g...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | GUINEACHINA Contract confusion 22nd May 2009 The junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara's order that all mining licences are subject to immediate revocation if the government does not approve of their development plans ha...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | CHINA Yuan Nangsheng 22nd May 2009 China's Ambassador to Zimbabwe After Mao Zedong completed his first Soviet-style Five Year Plan in 1954, China's economic problems deteriorated sharply. That year, China's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yuan Nansheng, ...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 6 | SOUTH AFRICACHINA Ditching the Dalai Lama 16th April 2009 The barring of the Dalai Lama appalls Archbishop Desmond Tutu but gets strong backing from the finance and foreign ministers The South African authorities' refusal of a visa to the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet in late March shows how the 'One China' policy extends into relations with Africa, where government...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 6 | SOUTH AFRICACHINA This wheel's on fire 16th April 2009 China may be popular amongst some politicians, but support on the ground can be much thinner. In spite of increased trade and warmer relations, there has been a rise in anti-Chin...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 6 | LIBERIACHINA The Bong revival 16th April 2009 New facts about China Union's iron ore deal reveal the failure and high costs of Monrovia's negotiating tactics On closer scrutiny, the agreement between China Union and the Liberian government to resume iron ore production at Bong Mines hugely favours the Chinese company with only a minim...