China Courts African Media Leaders

 China Daily published on 20 August 2026 an article titled "Deeper China-Africa Media Relations Urged" by Zhao Jia.

The 7th Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation brought together in Beijing about 400 government, media, diplomatic, business, and academic representatives from China and 45 African countries.  Representatives reportedly urged China-Africa media cooperation to move beyond equipment support and program exchanges toward coproduction and two-way storytelling in order to help the African media better narrate their own stories and bring a wider African perspective to Chinese audiences.  

China-Africa Ties and US Policy

 The Congressional Research Service published on 6 August 2026 a paper titled "China-Sub-Saharan Africa Ties and U.S. Policy" by Nicolas Cook, Lauren Ploch Blanchard, and Michael D. Sutherland.

China presents its engagement in Africa as promoting mutually beneficial economic development without imposing political conditions.  In practice, China seeks to use integrated multidimensional engagement to advance its broader global strategic goals of expanding its international influence, strengthening its access to natural resources, and challenging US global leadership.

Economic activity is a central pillar of China's activity in Africa.  Beijing's policy banks and state-backed lenders have extended numerous loans to African governments and other actors, making China a key bilateral creditor on the continent.  China engages in education and media cooperation, and provides development aid via grants and concessional loans, technical assistance, and humanitarian programs. Security cooperation between China and African countries has grown, especially over the last decade. 

A Retrospective on Sudan-South Sudan Separation and the Future

 The International Crisis Group posted on 18 August 2026 an hour-long podcast titled "Sudan's Separation Fifteen Years Ago and Today's Disaster" with Alan Boswell, Alex de Waal, and Abdul Mohammed.  

Alex de Waal and Abdul Mohammed review the background of South Sudan's independence from Sudan and the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.  They explained why negotiations ultimately failed to produce two viable states, and whether such coordinated high-level diplomacy is still possible in today's fragmented regional geopolitics.

Efforts to resolve the crises in Sudan and South Sudan today are experiencing greater involvement from the Gulf States and involve a larger number of competing actors.  Mediation today is extremely difficult.  The global environment is highly transactional.  The situation also has the possibility of becoming a regional war.  It is time for the African Union to step forward and play a stronger role in ending the conflicts.  

US-China Differences on Global Warming Pose Dilemma for Africa

 The Institute for Security Studies published on 14 August 2026 a paper titled "US-China Rivalry Puts Africa's Climate Diplomacy to the Test" by Dhesigen Naidoo.

China has been a consistent signatory of the Paris Agreement while the Trump administration withdrew from it during both its first and second iterations.  

The author argues that Africa must maintain a positive climate-action approach while navigating the American anti-climate stance.  US support for fossil fuel-based development has gained momentum, slowing Africa's pathway to low carbon development.

AU Mission in Somalia Plans for Earlier Exit

 AEIs Critical Threats Africa File posted on 13 August 2026 an article titled "Somalia--AUSSOM" by Michael DeAngelo.  

The African Union Stabilization and Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) has begun an accelerated handoff of responsibility to the Somali National Army.  AUSSOM's mission end date is December 2029, but the goal is to complete most of the handoff in 2028.  Al-Shabaab will likely exploit any lapse in counterterrorism efforts that might result from this decision.  

Podcast on Horn of Africa

 The Somali Media Network posted on 8 August 2026 a 42-minute podcast with me hosted by Ismail Gorse on the Horn of Africa.  

This is a wide-ranging discussion of current issues in the Horn of Africa and US policy with a special focus on Somalia and Somaliland.

How China and the US Pursue African Critical Minerals

 China-Africa Security Radar published on 3 August 2026 an article titled "Fragmented Leverage: Why African States Call for Collective Bargaining but Prefer Bilateralism in Critical Minerals Negotiations" by Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah.

The author explains how China and the United States seek advantage with African countries in bilateral negotiations in their quest for critical minerals.  China exploits bilateral negotiations through processing dominance and bundled infrastructure-mineral deals.  The United States pursues selective frameworks and corridor diplomacy.  

China Aims to Take Lead on Artificial Intelligence in Global South

 CNBC published on 17 July 2026 an article titled "Xi Pitches China as AI Partner to Developing World, Warns Against Risks and Security Overreach" by Lim Hui Jie.

China is reaching out to various blocs of nations in the Global South to build partnerships concerning AI.  The blocs include ASEAN, African Union, League of Arab States, and the BRICS.

Aljazeera published on 17 July 2026 an article titled "China's Xi Jinping Launches New AI Alliance: What Is It?"

Beijing is casting itself as a leader of the global AI order, challenging the position of the United States.  China announced last week a coalition of 29 nations called the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) with a headquarters in Shanghai.  Founding members include South Africa and Senegal.

In the meantime, Washington is retreating from global cyber and AI norms-setting processes and withdrawing its financial backing for cyber diplomacy more broadly.

China Links Communist Party to China-Africa Cooperation

 Ethiopia's Capital published on 12 July 2026 an op-ed titled "A 105-year Journey of Struggle: The Code of China's Development and a New Chapter in China-Africa Cooperation" by Ambassador Jiang Feng, head of China's mission to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  

The op-ed begins: "On July 1st, the Communist Party of China (CPC) marked the 105th anniversary of its founding.  For the Chinese people, it is an important occasion to reflect on the nation's journey of struggle and achievement while looking ahead to the bright prospects.  For our African friends who are interested in China's development, it also offers an important opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the key to China's development."  

The op-ed continues to praise the progress made by the CPC and suggests that China's model of development offers lessons for African countries.

Comment:  The Mission of China to the African Union website posted the same op-ed on 7 July.  It is not clear if Capital published the op-ed because it considered the ambassador's remarks newsworthy or there was some other incentive.

Is Ethiopia Sliding Toward a New Tigray War?

 The International Crisis Group posted on 10 July 2026 a 40-minute podcast titled "Is Ethiopia Sliding Toward a New Tigray War?" with Alan Boswell and Payton Knopf, Dialogue Advisory Group and former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.  

They discuss the background and status of the Pretoria Agreement and the rising risk of renewed war in Ethiopia's Tigray Region.  They look at how unresolved disputes over territory, Tigray's federal status, internal divisions, and worsening Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions could push the region back toward war.  They also unpack why escalating regional dynamics, including the war in Sudan, could make a renewed conflict even more explosive, why full-scale war is not inevitable, and what practical off ramps still remain.

Russian Foreign Minister Meets African Union Chairman

Fana Fact Check published on 7 July 2026 an article titled "AU, Russia Commitment to Deeper Partnership, Advance Africa-Led Solutions to Global Challenges." 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in Addis Ababa on 7 July.  They expressed agreement on numerous mutual issues of concern and on many AU policies and goals.

Comment:  There were no commitments of tangible Russian assistance to the African Union or the challenges it faces in Africa today.  

China, the US and Africa Green Minerals Strategy

 China-Africa Security Radar published on 5 July 2026 a commentary titled "China, the United States, and Africa's Green Minerals Vision" by Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah.

In 2025, the African Union adopted a continental policy framework called Africa Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS), which aims to turn Africa's critical and green minerals endowment into sustainable, value-adding industrialization that supports a just energy transition and regional supply chain integration.  

China has the processing capacity, investment scale, implementation speed, and institutional flexibility to advance African industrialization--but its commercial incentives run directly against allowing Africa to independently climb the value chain.

The US offers somewhat more transparent financing structures, stronger governance standards, and procedural models that on paper seem to better protect African states from debt traps--but it lacks the industrial ecosystem and the genuine political will to support African manufacturing rather than African extraction for American consumption.   

Podcast of Somaliland's Culture and History

 Higher Education Today posted about a month ago a 29-minute podcast titled "Culture and History of Somaliland" hosted by Steven Roy Goodman with Jama Musa Jama, Hargeisa Cultural Centre, and Lee Cassanelli, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania.  

This is a positive account filmed in Hargeisa of Somaliland's history and culture, interspersed with video clips of the country.  

Status of the UN Mission in South Sudan

 The Stimson Center published on 24 June 2026 a report titled "The UN Mission in South Sudan in the Context of Changing Security and Regional Dynamics."

The report concludes that the combined effects of a fragile peace process, heightened political tensions, economic deterioration, the spillover of conflict from Sudan, the emerging Ebola crisis in the neighboring DRC, and growing humanitarian pressures have created a volatile environment in South Sudan.

South Sudan continues to grapple with unresolved questions surrounding the political transition and the lack of implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which remains the primary political framework for addressing the conflict and advancing sustainable peace.  

Somalia, Al-Shabaab, and the Future

 The International Crisis Group published on 30 June 2026 an analysis titled "New Chapter, Same Stalemate: Somalia's War with Al-Shabaab."

This analysis describes the ebb and flow of al-Shabaab's war with the Somali government since 2022.  It concludes that while Mogadishu faces several big challenges, it retains the military capability, in terms of personnel and resources, to hold the line, provided that external support does not abruptly disappear.

Meanwhile, despite al-Shabaab's pragmatic shifts in its approach to ruling areas under its control, its unpopularity among those it governs remains a roadblock for its attempts to supplant the Somali government.  

With neither side able to defeat the other, the war in Somalia is fundamentally at a stalemate with no end in sight.

Eswatini Sticks with Taiwan and Misses Out on China's Zero Tariffs

 African Arguments published on 25 June 2026 a commentary titled "Xi's Zero Tariff Offer to Africa and the Political Boundaries of Eswatini's Exclusion" by Francis Annagu, a freelance journalist.

China made imports from Africa duty free as of May 1 for all countries except Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan.  The author suggests Eswatini decided to maintain its relationship with Taiwan because of its long friendship with Taipei that began well before China became a major economic power in Africa.  

China Trains Africans on How to Control Small Arms

 The South China Morning Post published on 26 June 2026 an article titled "Can China's Strict Policing Model 'Silence the Guns' in Africa?" by Jevans Nyabiage.

China is training African trainees on ways to get better control of small arms and light weapons (SALW).  The problem is that China's strict domestic policies do not transfer well to Africa where some African governments supply SALW to non-state actors in neighboring countries.  Until this practice ends, China's training will accomplish little.  

US Warns of Possible New Atrocities in Sudan

 The New York Times published on 23 June 2026 an article titled "U.S. Warns of 'Imminent' Atrocities in Sudanese City" by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Brian O. Otieno.  

The U.S. State Department warned early this week that there are alarming indications of imminent "mass atrocities" in the event the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces takes the city of El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan region, from the Sudan Armed Forces.

Sudanese Political Dialogue

 AEIs Critical Threats Africa File posted on 11 June 2026 an article titled "Sudanese Political Dialogue" by Michael DeAngelo.

Political organizations aligned with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) met in Addis Ababa in early June when they produced a roadmap for ending the civil war.  Several key groups did not participate or did not accept the outcome, raising doubts whether any progress has been made in ending the war.

Seychelles More Positive on India and China than US

 Afrobarometer posted on 1 June 2026 a news release titled "Majority of Seychellois Welcome the Influence of India and China, Favour Neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine War."

Favorable perceptions of China's influence on Seychelles have increased significantly in recent years while those of the United States have fallen.  An overwhelming majority of Seychellois favor neutrality on Russia's war against Ukraine but more have a negative than positive perception of Russia's influence on Seychelles.