China's Reaction to Morocco's Ceuta Crisis

 The ChinaMed Project published on 5 August 2026 an analysis titled "Chinese Officials, Experts and Media Discuss the Ceuta Crisis" by Leonardo Bruni.

On 31 July, some 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast.  This analysis discusses how Chinese officials and media have framed the Ceuta crisis, and if Chinese analysts see it as evidence that internal European Union divisions could weaken the bloc's ability to respond to external threats, such as China's assertive trade policies.

By avoiding discussing responsibility or causes of the migrant surge, Beijing showed its interest in maintaining good relations with both Spain and Morocco.  The weakness of European solidarity was, however, a recurring theme.

Illegal Chinese Fishing off Gambia

 Voxeurop posted on 10 November 2025 an article titled "The Gambia's Stolen Catch: How Chinese Trawlers Feed Europe's Seafood Market" by Davide Mancini.

The Gambia has a tiny exclusive economic zone, but it is a hotspot for illegal fishing because of the nutrient-rich waters.  Chinese-controlled trawlers are the principal offenders.  

Mali Receives Armored Personnel Carriers from China

 Defence Web posted on 5 August 2025 an article titled "Mali Receives CS/VP14 Armoured Vehicles from China" by Guy Martin.

The Malian Armed Forces has taken delivery of Chinese armored personnel carriers manufactured by Norinco as part of its campaign to combat terrorist groups.

US-led Red Sea Protection Force

 The Associated Press published on 19 December 2023 an article titled "Pentagon Announces New International Maritime Protection Force for the Red Sea."

At any given time, there are about 400 commercial vessels transiting the southern Red Sea in an area where Iranian-supported and Yemen-based Houthis are attacking commercial shipping with drones and ballistic missiles.  Consequently, the United States has organized Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect all ships transiting the Red Sea.  So far, the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain have joined the security mission. 

One notably absent participant is China, which has three PLA Navy ships (usually two frigates and a supply ship) permanently assigned in the area.  So far, those ships have not responded to previous calls for assistance by commercial vessels even though some of the ships attacked have had ties to Hong Kong.  

North Korea Closes Embassies in Uganda and Angola

 National Public Radio published on 6 November 2023 an article titled "North Korea Says It Is Closing Some Diplomatic Missions Around the World" by Se Eun Gong.  

North Korea is closing its diplomatic missions in Uganda, Angola, Spain, and Hong Kong and may shut down as many as a dozen in order to increase efficiency in its diplomatic establishments.  North Korean ambassadors have already left Angola and Uganda.  

Is Algeria Rebalancing Its Relations Among Russia, China, and the West?

 The Fikra Forum published on 9 August 2022 an analysis titled "Algeria's Foreign Policy: Facing a Crossroads" by Vasilis Petropoulos, Berghof Foundation.  

Algeria has been drawn to Russia and China in recent years for a variety of reasons but its growing economic ties with France, Spain, and Italy and Putin's invasion of Ukraine are causing a reassessment in favor of non-alignment.  

AFRICOM: Move from Stuttgart to Another European City?

 The Washington Post published on 10 September 2020 a story titled "The Trump Administration Is Considering Moving U.S. Africa Command.  It Won't Be Cheap or Easy" by Dan Lamothe.  

According to the article, the Trump administration is looking at locations in Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the UK for relocating the Africa Command, which is currently co-located with the European Command in Stuttgart.  

While an argument can be made for relocating AFRICOM to an underutilized military base on the east coast of the United States for long-term cost reasons, the proposal to move it from one European city to another makes no sense whatsoever.     

China Challenges France in Morocco

The East Asia Forum published on 1 August 2020 an article titled "China's Challenge in Morocco's Africa-to-Europe Commercial Corridor" by Michael Tanchum, University of Navarra in Spain.

Morocco has surpassed Spain and is poised to become the dominant maritime hub in the western Mediterranean.  China's role in Morocco's infrastructure development has been pivotal since Moroccan King Mohammed VI's 2016 visit to China when the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement and more than 15 public-private partnership agreements.  Chinese investments and contracts in Morocco between 2014 and 2019 totaled $1.26 billion.  

Morocco May Gain with Europe as China Slips

Deutsche Welle posted on 15 July 2020 an article titled "China's Economic Loss Could be Morocco's Gain."

European companies hurt by COVID-19 are looking to shorten their supply chains, causing them to rethink trade and investment ties with giants such as China.  One country that may benefit from this situation is Morocco with its short supply chain, cheaper labor, and political stability. 

Chinese and American Military Bases Eyeball to Eyeball in Djibouti

Canada's The Globe and Mail published on 7 June 2019 an article titled "Parting the Red Sea: Why the Chinese and U.S. Armies Are Fortifying This Tiny African Country" by Geoffrey York.

Both China and the United States have significant military bases a few miles from each other in Djibouti. China and the United States use their respective bases to expand their geopolitical influence at this intersection of Africa and the Middle East. The author asks what could possibly go wrong?

Non-Regional Actors in the Red Sea Basin

These are remarks I made at a work shop held in Amman, Jordan, on 26-27 April 2019 concerning opportunities and challenges in a collective approach in the Red Sea region. My remarks were titled "Interests of Non-Regional Actors in Suez Canal/Red Sea/Gulf of Aden Region."

Chinese Companies Export Timber Illegally from Gabon and Congo; US and Europe Buy Finished Product

The Environmental Investigation Agency published on 25 March 2019 a report titled "Toxic Trade: Forest Crime in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and Contamination of the US Market."

The Dejia Group, affiliated companies controlled by the Chinese mogul Xu Gong De, harvest, process, and export mostly to China illegally-sourced okoume trees from the tropical forests of Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The US importer Evergreen Hardwoods purchases veneer produced from these trees that makes its way to the American consumer. The Dejia Group has also placed hundreds of thousands of tons of timber products in European countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

Western Africa's Missing Fish

London-based Overseas Development Institute published in June 2016 a report titled "Western Africa's Missing Fish: The Impacts of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Under-Reporting Catches by Foreign Fleets" by Alfonso Daniels, Miren Gutierrez, Gonzalo Fanjul, Arantxa Guerena, Ishbel Matheson, and Kevin Watkins.

The report concludes that overfishing in the world's oceans has reached catastrophic levels. Many major fish stocks are in decline. Some species are being pushed towards extinction. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is heavily implicated in overfishing. As much as one fifth of the world's fisheries catch may originate from IUU activity. Western Africa is at the epicenter of the tragedy. About 84 percent of the fish exported from western Africa leave the region in large refrigerated containers. China has the world's largest refrigerated fleet followed by Japan, Spain, South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan. The catches of the Chinese distant-water fleets are almost completely undocumented and unreported.

Bloomberg published on 18 July 2016 a short article titled "Cameroon Impounds Chinese-manned Vessel for Illegal Fishing" by Divine Ntaryike Jr. The article underscores the nature of the problem.

China in Africa: One among Many

The Economist published on 17 January 2015 a brief commentary titled "China in Africa: One among Many."  The sub-title is "China has become big in Africa. Now for the backlash."

The statistics used in the article suggest it is referring only to Sub-Saharan Africa and not all 54 countries in Africa.  A main theme is that Africans are increasingly suspicious of Chinese firms and their unfair deals and environmental damage.  It concludes that after years of talk about "win-win" partnerships, "China seems belatedly aware of the problem."

While there is some truth to the criticism in the article, it strikes me as somewhat overwrought.  The most useful point is that we should not lose sight of the fact that collectively countries such as the US, UK, France, India, and Italy count for much more trade and investment in Africa than does China. 

Western Sahara Podcast

China Radio International asked me to join Ayo Johnson, director of Viewpoint Africa in London, on 1 May 2013 in an hour long discussion of the Western Sahara issue.  The program covered the merits of Morocco's claims to the Western Sahara, the viability of an independent Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, the role of Algeria, concerns about human rights, the possible spread of terrorism from the Sahel region to the Western Sahara and the position of the United States and France.