China's Belt and Road Initiative: Not What It Once Was

 Foreign Affairs published on 7 February 2023 an article titled "China Hasn't Given Up on the Belt and Road" by Matt Schrader and J. Michael Cole, both with the International Republican Institute.  

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure program became an important part of its foreign policy.  Major financing cutbacks are, however, changing the focus of the initiative.  While China is not giving up on it, the BRI has become "a less splashy, less expensive model of engagement predicated on cultivating ties more organically in fields such as trade, telecommunications, green energy, and academia."  The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the lowest funding to African governments since 2004, although the shift in focus of BRI had started even earlier.  

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meets with TPLF Delegation

 Agence France Presse published on 3 February 2023 an article titled "Ethiopia PM Holds First Meeting with Tigray Leaders Since Peace Deal."

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met for the first time with a TPLF delegation regarding the progress of the peace process.  Reports from Tigray Region claim Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara militia remain in parts of the region but because access is restricted the reports are impossible to verify independently.  

Ethiopia's Tigray Region Experiences Routine Internet Shutdowns

 Reuters published on 28 September 2022 an article titled "Six Million Silenced: A Two-year Internet Outage in Ethiopia" by Zecharias Zelalem.  

Tigray Region of Ethiopia, which is at war with the central government, has experienced almost continuous Internet outage over the past two years, affecting about six million people.  

End Intolerance in Ethiopia

Human Rights Watch issued a statement on 13 November 2020 titled "Ethiopia: Protect People as Tigray Crisis Escalates." 

Human Rights Watch calls for the reopening of communications in Tigray region, end of intolerance against any ethnic group, and investigations of all serious crimes.  

US Efforts to Reign in Huawei May Backfire in Africa

The Washington Post Monkey Cage posted on 10 June 2019 an analysis titled "How Huawei Could Survive Trump" by Jordan Link, China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

China's Huawei has built about 70 percent of Africa's 4G network and is poised to dominate the 5G network because of its reasonable quality and low price. U.S. attempts to reign in Huawei in some parts of the world may push it even deeper into Africa, where many countries need quality communications at cheaper prices. Security concerns are less important.

China's Huawei Expands into Kenyan Market

Kenya's Business Daily published on 6 May 2019 an article titled "Huawei Poised To Fuel China Foreign Policy in Kenya" by Aggrey Mutambo.

Huawei will build a Kenyan national cloud data center, smart ICT network, public safe city and smart traffic solution as well as a cloud center for the government enterprise service.

Chinese Lending to Africa for Military and Security Purposes

The China Africa Research Initiative posted on 9 April 2019 a blog titled "Chinese Lending to Africa for Military and Domestic Security Purposes" by Jordan Link.

Between 2003 and 2017, China loaned $2.53 billion to 8 African countries for military and national defense purposes. It loaned an additional $1.36 billion for African policing and law and order and $67 million for dual use purposes, totaling $4.56 billion.

Chinese Smartphone Maker Captures African Market

The South China Morning Post published on 1 August 2017 an article titled "How Chinese Smartphone Makers Compete with Samsung and Apple in Overseas Markets" by Meng Jing.

The article reports that Transsion Holdings, a China-based phone maker, has captured more than 40 percent of the mobile phone market in Sub-Saharan African countries by pricing below Samsung and Apple and offering headset features designed specifically for African needs.

Africa and China's Maritime Silk Road

China published on 20 June 2017 its most detailed explanation so far of the Maritime Silk Road titled "Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative."

The purpose of the document is to synchronize development plans and promote joint actions among countries along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. A key component as concerns Africa is the building of the China-Indian Ocean-Africa-Mediterranean Sea Blue Economic Passage. As for projects being implemented in Africa, the document cites the railway linking Addis Ababa and Djibouti, the railway between Mombasa and Nairobi, and the Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Egypt. Interestingly, there is no mention of China's new military facility in Djibouti.

The document stresses development projects, infrastructure construction, marine ecoesystems, climate change, anti-poverty programs, maritime security, economic growth, and mechanisms for collaboration in creating the blue economy. Nearly all of these initiatives have been on-going components of China's policies in Africa and the specific projects cited for Africa predate the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative three years ago.

New Scholarly Articles on Somalia and Somaliland

Four articles on Somalia and Somaliland have appeared recently in academic journals. They are NOT available on-line through open access, but can be accessed through university libraries. The articles are:

--Why Victories in Battle Have Not Yet Finished the War Against Al-Shabaab by Noel Anderson, PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It appears in the August-September 2016 issue of Survival.

--Managing Risk in Ungoverned Space: Local and International Actors in Somalia by Ken Menkhaus, Davidson College. It appears in the Winter-Spring 2016 issue of SAIS Review.

--The Trap of International Intervention: How Somaliland Succeeded When Somalia Failed by Teresa Krug, a multimedia journalist. It appears in the Winter-Spring 2016 issue of SAIS Review.

--Off-road Policing: Communications Technology and Government Authority in Somaliland by Alice Hills, Durham University. It appears in the September 2016 issue of International Affairs.

Somalia: Progress but Need to Regulate Money Transfers and Communications

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 12 February 2016 a report titled "Closing Up Regulatory Gaps Key in Somalia's Fight against Al-Shabaab" by Meressa Kahsu, ISS Addis Ababa.

The author reports on a number of positive developments in Somalia but argues in order to weaken al-Shabaab, the Somali government needs to regulate money transfers, trade and telecom services by monitoring remittance institutions, banks and telecommunications companies. 

Star Times of China Trying to Control Digital Migration in Africa?

Kenya's Daily Nation published on 17 February 2015 an opinion piece titled "Digital Migration Across Africa Is All About Dubious Deals with Chinese" by Jaindi Kisero.

The piece notes that China's Star Times has managed to dominate the migration from analogue to digital in much of Africa, driving the process in Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and other countries.  The author says the concern is about the tactics that Star Times is employing as it positions itself to control the whole digital migration process in Africa. 

Chinese Companies Bring the Internet to Africa

AllAfrica.com published on 12 February 2015 a piece titled "Chinese Companies Bring the Internet to More Africans."  While Africa has witnessed in recent years the largest growth in mobile phone users, it still lags behind the rest of the world.  Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE have brought advanced technology and inexpensive internet service to Africa.  In addition, smart phones made by Huawei, Lenovo, and Haier are popular in Africa.

UN Agreement with Somalia

The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) signed a detailed legal agreement on 26 February 2014 with the government of Somalia.  It lays down the ground rules under which UNSOM can operate in Somalia.

New China-Africa Website

The Africa Daily is an online communications platform that provides up-to-date journalistic and academic information on China-Africa relations. The website also facilitates cultural and informational exchange among the diaspora communities in major Chinese and African cities. The Africa Daily is part of The Jewel Media Group, which provides research and consultative services to individuals and business organizations. It is based in Arlington, Virginia. 

South Sudan Public Opinion Poll

The International Republican Institute (IRI) conducted a public opinion poll in all 10 states of South Sudan from 24 April to 22 May 2013.  IRI interviewed 2,533 persons 18 and older on a wide variety of questions.  Some of the results were surprising. 

An Analysis of Somali Print, Online Media, Radio and TV

Mohamed Husein Gaas, Stig Jarle Hansen and David Berry have prepared an excellent analysis and survey of Somali print, online, radio and television media. Titled Mapping the Somali Media: An Overview, it is dated March 2012 and available on the NORAGRIC website. Click here for the full report.

NORAGRIC was established in 1986 as a center at the former Norwegian Agricultural University. In 2005, it became the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the renamed Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

This is a fascinating study of a an important topic both in Somalia and the diaspora that has received little attention in recent years.