The US Department of State issued on 22 September 2026 a statement titled "Efforts to Achieve Peace in Sudan."
The statement said neither the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made any serious effort to achieve peace. Consequently, the Trump administration will raise the cost of continued conflict on all belligerents. Neither the SAF nor the RSF is eligible to govern Sudan.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on 1 September 2026 the text of Xi Jinping's open letter to the Egyptian public titled "Celebrating 70 Years of Solidarity, China and Egypt Embark on a New Journey" sent to three prominent Arabic-language Egyptian papers prior to his arrival on a state visit. The three papers are Al-Ahram, the most widely circulated Egyptian daily, Al-Akhbar, a state-owned morning daily, and Al-Gomhuria, another state-owned daily.
Xi Jinping's message emphasized the long-standing cultural connection between the two countries and 70 years of diplomatic relations. The lengthy letter notes that "the Yangtze River and the Yellow River gave birth to the Chinese civilization, and the Nile was the cradle of the ancient Egyptian civilization." He added that our two great civilizations, China and Egypt, should implement China's Global Civilization Initiative.
The Somali Public Agenda and Somali Dialogue Platform published in July 2026 a study titled "Navigating Political Transition: Citizens' Views on Elections, Legitimacy, and Governance in Somalia."
This study addresses how citizens understand democratic principles, electoral legitimacy, political mediation, and government accountability by means of a May-June 2026 public opinion poll conducted across Mogadishu and five Federal Member State capitals, reaching 928 respondents.
The analysis examines which democratic principles citizens prioritize, which actors they trust to mediate political disputes, which institutions they trust to manage or oversee elections, and which issues they want political leaders to communicate about more openly.
The findings show that citizens express strong support for democratic reform in principle, but their preferences become more complex when democratic goals are weighed against peace, stability, term limits, press freedom, and public participation.
The South African Institute of International Affairs recently posted a 16-minute podcast titled "South Africa and Russia: It's Complicated."
The Russia-China relationship generates uncomfortable headlines today. It is based on the strong anti-apartheid position of the Soviet Union. In addition, Vladimir Putin and former South African President Jacob Zuma solidified the ties.
Russia's invasion of Georgia, Crimea, and Ukraine complicated the relationship. South Africa fell back on a policy of non-alignment. By 2022, there was confusion in Pretoria concerning policy towards Russia.
Today, South Africa-Russia trade is negligible and Russian investment in the country is modest. South Africa and Russia, both members of BRICS, agree on the need to revise the world order but not much else.
African Arguments posted on 21 July 2026 a commentary titled "Sudan's Peace Process Is Negotiating a War That No Longer Exists" by Ezzat Khairi, a Sudan political analyst.
Diplomatic assumptions for ending the war in Sudan remain where they were in April 2023. Peace initiatives approach Sudan as a two-sided conflict between a national army and a paramilitary rebellion. That model no longer fits the war. The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) now contain armed movements, tribal formations, ideological brigades, local defense groups, and commanders with their own constituencies and expectations of the postwar order. The leaders of the SAF and RSF do not fully control the coalitions supporting them.
Skift, a digital media company and travel website, posted on 1 May 2026 an article titled "China Quietly Cancels a Digital Rights Summit in Africa" by Miguel Neves.
Evidence is mounting that Beijing was behind Zambia's decision to cancel at the last minute RightsCon 2026 involving an estimated 2,000 international participants from over 150 countries. RightsCon bills itself as the "world's leading summit on human rights in the digital age."
Beijing's concern was apparently attendance by civil society representatives from Taiwan. The conference was scheduled to be held at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka. China granted Zambia $30 million in 2022 to expand the facility, giving it considerable leverage to influence the cancellation of the summit by the government of Zambia.
The International Crisis Group published on 17 April 2026 a statement titled "Latest Sudan Conference Shows Diplomacy Is Backsliding" by Comfort Ero and Alan Boswell.
Officials who gathered in Berlin on 15 April pledged 1.5 billion Euros for humanitarian aid to Sudan but failed to agree on a joint communique. Blame for the inability to agree on a common approach to achieve a cease fire resulted because of differences in the US-led Quad, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.
Negotiations foundered over Saudi Arabia's insistence on language stressing the need to preserve "state institutions", which would include Sudan's army, and the UAE's opposition to it. The intra-Quad discord highlights the challenges facing US-led efforts to secure a truce, which are backsliding amid deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 17 March 2026 an analysis titled "Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and Market Capture in Africa" by Paul Nantulya.
China has the largest state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector in the world, accounting for about 20 percent of China's GDP. African economic sectors such as mining, railways, and power generation can become dominated by large Chinese SOEs. They can then out compete African companies and other investors, create supply chain dependence on Chinese firms, and reduce the bargaining power of African governments.
The Institute of Development Studies published in March 2026 a major study titled "Smart City Surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI Surveillance Across 11 Countries" edited by Wairagala Wakabi and Tony Roberts.
The report provides a comprehensive account of smart city surveillance in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. China is by far the largest supplier of AI surveillance technologies to African governments, including to all 11 covered in this study.
The rapid expansion of smart city surveillance is having a chilling effect on ordinary citizens and journalists. The scale and invasive nature of mass surveillance is often not legal, necessary, or proportionate. There is little evidence that the expansion of digital surveillance reduces overall crime.
The Environmental Investigation Agency and PremiCongo published in March 2026 a report titled "Toxic Transition: How the World's Largest Cobalt Producer Has Allegedly Poisoned Communities for Years."
A Chinese company, CMOC Group Ltd., controls two of the world's largest copper-cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thousands of people live within a few kilometers of the operations and its massive processing plant. Local communities and civil society groups have sounded the alarm about severe health issues. Since 2023, doctors and nurses near the mines have treated a growing list of patients.
Chatham House published on 13 February 2026 a commentary titled "The AU Summit Is an Opportunity for Decisive Action to End the War in Sudan" by Hubert Kinkoh.
The author argued that the 14-15 February African Union Summit was an opportunity for decisive leadership on Sudan. The AU has been increasingly peripheral to competing diplomatic tracks. The AU must assert its primacy and enforce diplomatic coherence.
The Africa-China Centre for Policy & Advisory, an Accra-based think tank, published in January 2026 a paper titled "Why People Matter: Reimagining the Future of Africa-China Cooperation" by Paul Frimpong.
The Africa-China connection needs to shift from a primarily state-to-state model toward a society-to-society approach. Governments remain essential, but durable cooperation is built when universities, collaborate, journalists exchange perspectives, businesses form partnerships, and communities interact directly.
A second shift is from delivery-focused engagement to experience and impact-focused cooperation. Success should be measured not only by outputs--kilometers of road or megawatts of power--but by outcomes such as skills development, technology absorption, and local enterprise growth.
The third shift is from delivery exposure to mutual learning. People-to-people exchanges are most effective when they are reciprocal, allowing Africans and Chinese alike to learn, adapt, and innovate together. This mutuality strengthens trust and reinforces the principle of partnership.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 16 January 2026 an analysis titled "What to Expect from Africa-China Relations in 2026."
The focus of the analysis is what Africa hopes to get from China in 2026. In summary, Africa seeks to rebalance its ties with China concerning debt sustainability, value addition, and industrialization and to move toward a more equal and transparent partnership that prioritizes long-term African development. Africa wants a strategic partnership aligned with Agenda 2063.
Global Voices published on 17 December 2025 a commentary titled "China's Green Power in Angola: When Clean Energy Comes with Heavy Debt" by Vivian Wu and Jean Sovon.
Angola has received more than $40 billion in loans from China, much of it tied to oil-backed repayment. When oil prices are high, this works well for Angola, but when they fall debt servicing leaves the country financially exposed. In addition, loans used for large infrastructure projects such as hydropower dams provide uneven benefits for the Angolan people.
Ethiopia Insight published on 3 December 2025 a commentary titled "When Liberty Is Misused: Rethinking Tigray's Democratic Path" by Gidey Amare, a public servant in the healthcare sector.
Infighting and factional battles are monopolizing political energy in Tigray Region. Those advocating democratic renewal are preparing for it by dismantling rather than cultivating the political culture required to maintain it.
The author argues that the current trend in Tigray requires a political shift. Political parties must end all forms of character assassination. The political debate should pivot to structured policy discussions. Civil society and the media must take responsibility for shaping political discourse. Political leaders must be willing to engage with their ideological opponents. Political parties must build grassroots support and demonstrate a competence to govern.
Ethiopia Insight published on 15 November 2025 a commentary titled "A Third Way in Tigray" by Getachew Gebrekiros Temare.
The author argues that Ethiopia has failed to implement the Pretoria Agreement and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has squandered its mandate. His solution to the deteriorating situation in Tigray Region is creation of a broad-based civic-political alternative called the Tigray National Civic Coalition (TNCC). It must include representatives from groups that oppose the TPLF, which the author says would go into retirement.
The Emirates Policy Center posted on 9 October 2025 a commentary titled "Quad Initiative to End the War in Sudan: Positions and Challenges."
The United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE introduced an initiative to end the conflict in Sudan. This paper analyzes the potential success of the initiative within the context of ongoing military and political developments in Sudan. The brief concluded that the initiative could play a crucial role in shaping the path toward a peaceful political resolution in Sudan.
New Books Network posted on 8 October 2025 a one hour and 43-minute podcast on "China's Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement."
Kanayo Anthony Nomeh, Florida International University, hosted the podcast with the authors of the book, Joshua Eisenman and me. The podcast covers all aspects of the relationship between Africa and China, although the focus is on security and political issues.
The IE China Observatory and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in collaboration with Afrobarometer and the IE Africa Program published in September 2025 a report titled "China's Economic Influence in Africa: A Data Driven Analysis."
The report is based on large-scale survey data from 27 African countries and looks at how ordinary citizens across Africa perceive Chinese economic influence. The report concludes that China's impact is neither uniform nor static. The findings vary by country, region, demographic, and socioeconomic status.
Africa News published on 25 August 2025 an article titled "DR Congo: Civil Society Groups Call for Reassessment of China Mining Deal."
Civil society groups and NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo are calling for another reassessment of the controversial $7.5 billion "minerals for infrastructure" deal with China.
