China and South Africa to Share Nuclear Waste Experiences

 SABC News posted on 4 August 2026 an article titled "SA Moves to Complete R2 Billion Radioactive Waste Management Facility."

South Africa's National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Nuclear Corporation to work together and share experiences.  

The Kremlin's Long Game in Africa

 The Hudson Institute published on 4 July 2026 an analysis titled "The Kremlin's Long Game in Africa" by Joshua Meservey.

The analysis concludes that the Kremlin seeks to extract outsized benefits from Africa with the limited means it can deploy.  The nature of this engagement will change only when there is meaningful political transformation in Russia.

China Aiming to Dominate Nuclear Energy in Africa

 The China Global South Project published on 10 April 2025 a commentary titled "China's Strategic Pursuit of Nuclear Energy Dominance in Africa" by Innocent Batsani-Ncube, Queen Mary University of London.  

Russia and France currently dominate the nuclear energy sector in Africa with the United States playing a lesser role.  China is positioning itself to exert significant influence over the sector in the coming decades through a blend of diplomatic engagement, strategic partnerships, and technical proficiency.  The author concludes that China is well positioned to achieve its goal.  

A Decade of Egypt-Russia Relations

 The South African Institute of International Affairs published in September 2024 a paper titled "Strategic Partners or Tactical Allies? A Decade of Egypt-Russia Relations" by Heba Taha, Lund University of Sweden.

The paper assesses the drivers of the Egyptian-Russian relationship and its evolution over the past decade.  The author concludes that the relationship reflects a tactical convergence and is mostly structured around mutual interests.  Egypt forms a key part of Russia's turn to the Middle East and Africa.  At the same time, Egypt perceives closer cooperation with Russia as a way to balance its relationship with the United States.  

China and Nigeria Sign Nuclear Energy Agreement

 Oilprice.com posted on 3 September 2024 an article titled "Nigeria, China Sign Nuclear Energy Pact" by Julianne Geiger.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, during a visit to Beijing, signed a nuclear energy agreement with China, although no details were made available.  

Russia in Africa Special Issue

 The South African Journal of International Affairs latest issue published "Russia in Africa: Who Is Courting Whom?" by Steven Gruzd, Samuel Ramani, and Cayley Clifford.

This is an introductory essay to an excellent special issue of the journal, which focuses on Russia's relations with Africa. The authors argue that Russia is resurgent in Africa, but Moscow is more like a "virtual great power" than a genuine challenger to European, American, and Chinese influence.  

The authors conclude that Russia is a neo-colonial power dressed in anti-colonial clothes.  They do not definitively answer the question raised in the title of the issue except to say that "Moscow is wooing African elites to serve its interests; African states are trying to play off Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Beijing for maximum advantage."  

Russia-Africa Relations

 The Vivekananda International Foundation posted on 6 September 2022 a 20-minute podcast titled "Russia-Africa Relations" with Steven Gruzd, South African Institute of International Affairs.

Gruzd noted that Russia is not a significant investor in Africa but takes advantage of instability by offering the services of the Wagner Group private security company.  Russia is also a major player in niche markets such as nuclear power.  China and Russia are sometimes  rivals in Africa and sometimes collaborators.  This trend will likely continue with more collaboration going forward.   

Russia's Engagement in Zambia and Tanzania

 The South African Institute of International Affairs published in December 2021 a report titled "Russia's Resurgent Interest in Africa: The Cases of Zambia and Tanzania" by Dzvinka Kachur. 

Russia's main areas of engagement with Tanzania and Zambia are nuclear, military, and COVID-19 vaccine  provision.  Its relationships with both countries--beyond political declarations and memorandums of understanding--remain limited, underscoring some of the hurdles to Russia's current drive for greater influence in the global South.  

Significance of Russia's "Return" to Africa

 World Politics Review published on 12 January 2022 a commentary titled "Russia's 'Return' to Africa Is Less Than the Sum of Its Parts" by Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede.  

The author concludes that Russia's footprint in Africa pales in comparison to that of China, the United States, and the European Union.  Bilateral relations with African governments remain scattershot and confined to a handful of client states and a narrow range of priority issues, namely security and energy.  The story of Russia's "return" to Africa is much less than the sum of its parts.

Russia's Growing Ambitions in the Red Sea Region

 The Royal United Services Institute published in September 2021 a policy brief titled "Russia's Growing Ambitions in the Red Sea Region" by Samuel Ramani, University of Oxford.

The paper addresses why Russia is paying greater attention to the Red Sea region.  It concludes that Russia's policy towards the Red Sea appears opportunistic.

Although Russia's commitment to the Red Sea region has grown since 2017, the foundations of its influence are shallow and remain vulnerable to competition and disruption from external stakeholders.  Except for arms sales and nuclear energy, Russia's commercial presence in the Red Sea region is small in scale, its cooperation with the West and China on maritime security issues is limited, and it has struggled to convert assertive rhetoric in the UNSC into influence over regional arbitration processes.  

China-Africa Cooperation in Nuclear Power

CAC, a consulting and auditing firm based in Cameroon, recently posted an item titled "Nuclear: China As a Major Actor in Africa."

South Africa is now the only country in Africa to exploit nuclear power, but others are showing interest. About 30 African countries have reserves of uranium. Niger, South Africa and Namibia are important producers. China considers nuclear power as a strategic investment and is positioning itself to take advantage of growing interest in Africa by supplying services and expertise. It is already engaged in Niger and Kenya. CAC concludes that nuclear power is a new niche for the development of Sino-African relations.

China's Nuclear Diplomacy in North Africa and Middle East

The Diplomat published on 9 October 2018 an analysis titled "China's Nuclear Diplomacy in the Middle East" by Samuel Hickey, Arab Institute for Security Studies in Amman, Jordan.

China Zhongyuan Engineering Corporation is the overseas nuclear project platform of China National Nuclear Corporation and has offices in Egypt and Algeria in North Africa. China's domestic nuclear expansion has stalled since 2016. It must expand to new markets and increase its bureaucratic efficiency to support its massive nuclear industry. China will likely continue to set up nuclear export offices and expand its nuclear presence.

Russia Struggling to Expand in Africa

The Ghana News Agency posted on 5 July 2018 an article titled "Russia To deepen Trade and Investment Cooperation with Africa" by Kester Kenn Klomegah, Moscow Bureau Chief.

Although Russia's trade with the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa has increased modestly in the past three years, it remained at a minuscule $3.6 billion in 2017. In spite of a recent visit to Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, one analyst who follows Russia's engagement on the continent described its influence as marginal. Based on my own five-country trip to Sub-Saharan Africa in June, I would agree with this conclusion.

Zambia and Russia Sign Nuclear Science Contract

The Zambia Daily Mail Limited published a story on 28 May 2018 titled "Zambia-Russia Nuclear Science Deal" by Doris Kasote.

The agreement will result in the establishment of the Centre for Nuclear Sciences and Technology in Zambia. As a result of the project, Zambia hopes to become a regional hub for nuclear technology.

Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Africa

World Politics Review published on 29 March 2018 an article titled "As the U.S. Disengages, Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa" by Samuel Ramani, St. Anthony's College at Oxford.

The author says Russia is actively seeking to expand its economic and security influence in Africa. It efforts to expand its economic influence have principally focused on giving Moscow a foothold to access the region's key minerals. It uses arms sales to sway African leaders to give them preferential access to natural resources.

Russia Tries to Ramp Up Relations with Africa

The Institute for Security Studies published on 13 March 2018 an analysis titled "Russia and Africa Meet Again" by Ronak Gopaldas, director at Signal Risk.

The author commented on the recent visit to Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, noting that Africa's relationship with Russia is complementary rather than competitive. Russia is interested in obtaining African political support as it works to increase its relevance on global issues. It sees the advent of the Trump administration as a good time to reassert itself in Africa.

Chinese-American Cooperation in Removing Nuclear Fuel from Africa

Science Magazine posted on 31 August 2017 an article titled "U.S.-China Mission Rushes Bomb-grade Nuclear Fuel Out of Africa" by Richard Stone.

This is an account of Chinese-American cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. In this case, the two countries collaborated to remove highly enriched uranium fuel from Ghana and have plans to do the same thing in Nigeria.

Science Magazine posted a podcast with Richard Stone on this subject dated 2 October 2017 titled "Watch How the U.S. and China Are Working Together To Get Weapons-grade Uranium out of Ghana."

China in Namibia: A Force for Good or Not?

The New York Times Magazine published on 2 May 2017 an extensive account focused on Namibia titled "Is China the World's New Colonial Power?" by Brook Larmer.

The author suggests that for some Namibians the flood of Chinese loans and investments doesn't look so much like freedom as it does a new form of colonialism. The new infrastructure projects have saddled the economy with debt and done little so far to alleviate the nearly 30 percent unemployment rate. Somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 Chinese nationals now live in Namibia. Reflecting on China's image in other African countries, the author concludes that China can be seen by others, in the same instant, as a blessing and a curse.

China's Persian Gulf Diplomacy

The Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University published in December 2014 a study titled "Navigating the Gulf: China's Balancing Strategy" by Mandira Bagwandeen, analyst for the Asia Pacific Region at Salamanca Group in South Africa. 

The author argues that China has sought to improve relations with Persian Gulf nations such as Iran because the region contains a large share of the world's proven oil reserves.  Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities has complicated China's diplomacy.