Deutsche Welle published on 28 September 2025 an article titled "How China Promotes Its Language and Culture in Africa" by Martina Schwikowski.
China's Confucius Institutes offer courses on Chinese culture and Mandarin language in 49 African countries. There is some concern, however, that this instruction comes with an effort to propagate Chinese political values.
Uganda's The Independent published on 24 September 2025 an article titled "How China Controls the World" by Ronald Musoke.
The article draws on China's growing influence in Uganda and the results of the China Index 2024, published by China in the World network with the Taiwan-based non-profit Doublethink Lab. The index measures China's influence in 101 countries.
Comment: It is difficult to determine if the title of the article is tongue in cheek or a misreading of the China Index 2024. In any event, the index suggests that China is generally increasing its global influence.
University World News published on 7 August 2025 an article titled "More Oxygen for Africa-China Higher Education Collaboration" by Clemence Manyukwe.
This is a useful summary of China-Africa higher education collaboration. About 81,000 African students have studied in Chinese universities over the past two decades and current enrollment exceeds 50,000 students. Chinese universities have established formal partnerships with over 350 African universities in 54 countries. There are 61 Confucius Institutes and 48 Confucius Classrooms across Africa.
Global China Pulse published on 24 February 2025 an article titled "Confucius Institutes and the Spread of Mandarin Chinese in Africa" by Simbarashe Gukurume, Sol Plaatje University in South Africa.
Some 16 African countries have incorporated Mandarin teaching in their national education systems and about 30 universities have established Chinese majors. Confucius Institutes are important platforms for expanding not only Chinese language and culture, but also the world view, norms, values, and political philosophies of the Chinese government and the Communist Party of China.
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 Atlantic Council published on 13 June 2024 an analysis titled "A Global South with Chinese Characteristics" by Niva Yau.
China has embarked on a steadily expanding mission to promote its political system alongside its economic engagement across the Global South. Even as China's economic growth has slowed significantly and its political system has grown more repressive under Xi Jinping, the number of countries welcoming Chinese governance lessons continues to grow, enhancing Beijing's global influence. This has significant implications for the future of democracy, the protection of individual rights, and the nature of the global order.
One way that Beijing promotes authoritarian governance is through training programs for foreign government officials on Chinese governance practices. This analysis investigates a new dataset of Chinese government files on such training, revealing how China uses these sessions to directly promote ideas and practices that marry economics and politics to make a case for its authoritarian capitalism model. The analysis outlines the content Beijing teaches foreign officials and the anticipated benefits to Beijing from these programs. It also explains how these initiatives fit into China's broader ambitions to undermine the liberal democratic norms that currently underpin the global order.
The Stuttgart-based Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen published in 2023 a major study titled "China's Institutionalised Cultural Presence in Africa: Cultural Investments, Perceptions and Implications for China-Africa Cultural Relations" by Avril Joffe.
This study, which is available online, provides insight into Chinese international cultural policy. There is a special focus on South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. There are sections on China's strategy in Africa, Chinese investments in cultural infrastructure, media, film, music, Confucius Institutes, libraries, studying in China, and perceptions of China in Africa.
South Africa's The Citizen published on 27 March 2024 an article titled "China, Tanzania Set to Mark 60 Years of Naval Cooperation" by Jacob Mosenda.
Tanzania and China are marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the visit of the 45th Chinese naval task group (guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi, and supply ship Dongpinghu), which recently completed its anti-piracy rotation in the Gulf of Aden. Describing the China-Africa relationship, the article noted that China is Tanzania's largest trade partner and source of foreign direct investment.
Comment: It is true that China is Tanzania's largest trade partner and in 2022 was its largest source of foreign direct investment. The Chinese ambassador to Tanzania pointed out that in 2023 China-Tanzania trade reached $8.8 billion. What was left unsaid is the fact that this trade consists overwhelmingly of Chinese exports to Tanzania, leaving Dar es Salaam with a huge trade deficit. In 2022, for example, Tanzania's exports to China totaled only $535 million. Until 2021, the United Kingdom was the largest source of Tanzania's FDI; China passed the UK in 2022.
Before arriving at the port of Dar es Salaam, China's 45th naval task force participated with the Russian and Iranian navies in the 5th iteration of the trilateral naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman. Military Africa reported the engagement on 18 March 2024 in an article titled "South Africa Observes as Russia, China, and Iran Hold Naval Drill" by Sarah Lesedi.
The Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen published in 2023 a lengthy study titled "China's Institutionalised Cultural Presence in Africa: Cultural Investments, Perceptions and Implications for China-Africa Cultural Relations" by Avril Joffe.
The author conducted interviews with 31 artists, cultural professionals, academics, government officials, media houses, and non-governmental organizations in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.
The study's findings highlight the complexity of Chinese engagement in Africa and the various facets of its associated impacts. The author suggests that African actors should ensure that a more equitable engagement develops, where conditions are determined by local needs and culture, and more aggressively advocate for equality, needs, and respect for national sovereignty. The presence of China in Africa is largely driven by China rather than African governments.
The Diplomat published on 21 October 2023 a commentary titled "Comparing China's Engagement in Africa and Latin America" by R. Evan Ellis, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Center.
There are far more commonalities than differences in China's approach to Africa and Latin America, but the differences demonstrate how China adapts its policies to different geographic regions.
Good Governance Africa published in June 2023 an edition with a series of articles on China's presence in Africa titled "Sovereignty in an Emerging Multipolar World."
The articles are:
--Chinese Media in South Africa: An Overview by Barry Van Wyk.
--Resuscitating Indigenous Languages through Translanguaging Pedagogy within the Evolution and Dynamics of Teaching Mandarin in Nigeria and South Africa by Philip Ademola Olayoku.
--Chinese Companies' Corporate Social Responsibility in the Eyes of Local Communities in Kenya: A Public diplomacy Approach by Cliff Mboya.
--Chinese Vloggers' Representations of Sub-Saharan Africa on Douyin: An Exploratory Study by Isak Wang and Ann Wang.
--The China Factor in Africa's Pursuit of Digital Sovereignty by Mandira Bagwandeen.
Foreign Affairs posted on 23 December 2021 an analysis titled "China's Soft-Power Advantage in Africa: Beijing Isn't Just Building Roads--It's Making Friends" by Lina Benabdallah.
The author argues that Washington downplays Beijing's social and human capital investments in Africa at its own risk. These programs have quickly become a central pillar of China's foreign policy in Africa.
The South China Morning Post published on 31 January 2021 an article titled "China's Strategy in Africa 'Isn't Always Working,' Biden UN Nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield Tells Senators" by Jevans Nyabiage.
President Biden's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, discusses China-Africa and the US response during Senate confirmation hearings.
The Washington Post published on 27 January 2021 a commentary titled "Opinion: Biden's U.N. Ambassador Nominee to Face Criticism for Past Praise of China" by Josh Rogin.
The New York Times published on 27 January 2021 an article titled "Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden's Pick for U.N. Ambassador, Calls 2019 China Speech 'a Huge Mistake'" by Pranshu Verma.
Both accounts refer to a speech Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a specialist on African affairs, gave at Savannah State University's Confucius Institute in 2019. Her conciliatory remarks on China's engagement in Africa irritated conservative members of the Senate, causing Thomas-Greenfield to "regret" the speech and describing it as a "huge mistake."
The Washington Post Monkey Cage posted on 20 November 2020 a commentary titled "U.S.-China Competition May Be a Win-win for Africa" by Naunihal Singh, Josephine Appiah-Nyamekye Sanny, and E. Gyimah-Boadi.
According to Afrobarometer, Africans generally have a positive view of both China and the United States and welcome the engagement of both countries. The authors conclude the winner in the U.S.-China competition for influence in Africa could be all three.
