Pan African Television posted on 8 July 2026 an article titled "Namibia's President Visits China for Talks on Minerals, Green Hydrogen, and Manufacturing" by Victoria Wilson.
Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a state visit to China. Her priority is attracting investment in minerals processing and downstream manufacturing. Namibia aims to process 57 percent of its exported minerals locally by 2030.
The U.S. Department of State updated its website on 6 January 2026 listing those "Countries Subject to Visa Bonds."
Axios published on 6 January 2026 an article titled "Trump Adds 25 Countries to Costly U.S. Visa Bond Policy" by Julianna Bragg.
The Trump administration just added 25 countries to the State Department's list of nations whose citizens may be required to post bonds ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, determined at the time of the visa interview, to enter the United States. The newly added nations' bond requirements will take effect on 21 January.
Approved visa holders will only be allowed to enter the United States through one of three airports: Boston Logan International, John F. Kennedy International, and Washington Dulles International.
The addition of the 25 countries subject to visa bonds brings the total to 38 now required to post bonds. African countries account for 24 of the 38 countries. Most of them are on the list because of a history of visa overstays.
The 24 African countries are: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
African Business published on 11 September 2025 an article titled "Surge in Africa's China Imports Prompts Calls to Tackle Trade Deficit" by Lennox Yieke.
The sharp increase of Chinese exports to Africa during the first 7 months of 2025 are causing African governments to find ways to reduce their growing trade deficits with China.
UAE-based The National published on 9 July 2025 an article titled "Chinese Premier Li Qiang Visits Egypt to Deepen Ties as US Relations Sour" by Kamal Tabikha.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is visiting Egypt on a visit to strengthen relations. The article concludes that Egypt's growing frustration with Israel's polices in Gaza and its perception of US inaction have driven Cairo to recalibrate its foreign policy, resulting in Egypt prioritizing partnerships with China and BRICS nations to reduce reliance on Washington.
The Organization for World Peace published on 25 June 2025 an analysis titled "China and Egypt: A Strategic Embrace at the Crossroads of Power and Infrastructure" by Anson Zhang.
This is an updated account of the China-Egypt relationship with an emphasis on the increasing influence of China in Egypt. At the same time, Egypt has concerns over its large, persistent trade deficit with China and its ability to repay $8 billion in loans to Chinese banks.
Al-Monitor published on 20 October 2024 an article titled "What's Behind China's Deepening Engagement with Morocco?" by Sabena Siddiqui.
Chinese companies are winning contracts to expand Morocco's high speed rail system and signed a $6.4 billion memorandum of understanding to construct an EV battery "gigafactory" near Rabat. There is growing Chinese investment in Morocco's ICT sector. In 2022, China became Morocco's third largest trading partner.
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.
Estonia's EestiEest published on 13 June 2024 an article titled "What's Holding Up the Speculative Russian-Eritrean Naval Base Talks?"
Russia's ambassador to Eritrea told TASS that Asmara "advocates the permanent presence of our fleet in the Red Sea" and hinted that it offered Moscow a naval base earlier this year. The author of the article speculated that Asmara wants more in return from Moscow than just rent and that is what is holding up an agreement. The author added that Eritrea may be demanding that Russia take Asmara's side in a dispute with Ethiopia, a demand that Moscow would not be able to accept.
China Med posted on 24 January 2024 an article titled "Wang Yi's First Trip of 2024 According to the Egyptian and Tunisian Press" by Mariateresa Natuzzi.
The recent visit of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Egypt and Tunisia underscored China's wide range of engagement with Egypt and the focus only on tourism in Tunisia. There was a steady growth in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Egypt from 2003 through 2022. During the same period, FDI has remained almost non-existent in Tunisia.
The South African Institute of International Affairs published in March 2023 a study titled "Moscow's Continent: The Principles of Russia's Africa Policy Engagement" by Vuk Vuksanovic, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
The paper reflects on the increased importance of Africa to Russia's global interests. It explores the critical drivers of Africa's role within Russian foreign policy and argues that Russian policy in Africa revolves around three themes: pursuing alternative economic partnerships, seeking geopolitical leverage, and promoting multipolarity.
The Institute for Security Studies in South Africa published on 17 January 2023 a commentary titled "Can China Breathe Fire into Africa's Economies?" by Ronak Gopaldas, director of Signal Risk.
The author concludes that the jury is still out concerning the ability of China to prevent African countries from falling into recession. Africa should benefit from increased Chinese natural resource purchases and outbound tourist business but there may be significant delays before these consumption patterns return to pre-pandemic levels.
Tanzania's Daily News published on 30 October 2022 an article titled "TZ to Reap Big from Samia's China Visit" by Deogratius Kamagi.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is making a state visit to China next week, the first by an African leader since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party. Tanzania has big expectations for the visit. The article notes that trade between China and Tanzania has increased 20 percent annually over the last three years.
Comment: While China-Tanzania trade has been growing impressively since 2019, it should also be noted that the trade balance heavily favors China. In 2019, Tanzania exported $349 million in goods to China, but imported $3.81 billion worth from China. In 2020, Tanzanian exports to China totaled $388 million while imports from China totaled $4.17 billion. In 2021, Tanzanian exports to China reached $606 million but imports from China reached $6.14 billion or more than ten times the value of Tanzania's exports.
The Middle East Institute published on 7 March 2022 an analysis titled "Compounded Stress: The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Middle East and North Africa" by Ferid Belhaj, World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa.
The war in the Ukraine can have a compounding effect on food security and welfare across the Middle East and North Africa region. The major impacts will be on food price shocks, especially wheat, oil and gas price hikes, capital flight, remittances, and tourism. There can be no winners, although hydrocarbon exporters will experience some benefits.
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.
Development Reimagined, an African-led consultancy based in China, published recently a major report titled "From China-Africa to Africa-China: A Blueprint for a Green and Inclusive Continent-wide African Strategy towards China."
The report, intended primarily for African leaders, suggests a comprehensive blueprint (28 recommendations) for a continent-wide strategy for Africa in its interaction with China. The focus is on the economic development relationship and movement of people between Africa and China.
Reuters published on 5 August 2021 an article titled "Tigrayan Forces Take Control of Ethiopia's Lalibela, a UN World Heritage Site."
The Washington Post published on 5 August 2021 an article titled "Tigrayan Forces Take Control of Lalibela UNESCO Heritage Site" by Sammy Westfall.
The Tigray Defense Force reportedly entered the town of Lalibela and World Heritage Site on 5 August without facing any opposition, although numerous Amhara residents fled the area. The US called on the Tigrayan forces to respect the cultural heritage of the town and earlier had urged Tigrayan forces to withdraw from Amhara Region. At the beginning of the conflict, Amhara militia and central government forces took control of historically significant Aksum in western Tigray Region.
China Briefing posted on 11 January 2021 an article titled "China's Wang Yi Foreign Ministerial Annual New Year Tour of Africa: 2021 Highlights" by Chris Devonshire-Ellis.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi continued the tradition since 1991 of making the foreign minister's first overseas visit to Africa. On this occasion, Wang Yi visited Botswana, Nigeria, DRC, Tanzania, and Seychelles.
For a version of this paper with several relevant maps, click here.
