Foreign Policy published on 9 September 2025 an article titled "China's Appetite for Rosewood Is Causing Chaos in Africa" by Caroline Costello and Joshua Eisenman.
China imported an estimated $2 billion of rosewood from Africa between 2017 and 2022. Much of the logging for this rare timber is illegal. Extreme drought and flooding linked to the loss of rosewood trees have had devastating agricultural impacts.
Business Insider Africa published on 1 September 2025 an article titled "One of Zambia's Worst Toxic Spills Draws in Compensation Demand for $420 Million" by Chinedu Okafor.
Zambian communities impacted by a spill of toxic chemicals in February are demanding $420 million in damages from a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Mining Co. The spill occurred when a waste dam collapsed at a copper-processing plant.
News Diggers recently aired a 54-minute video documentary titled "Chinese Investment in Zambia -- the Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous" by Joseph Mwenda.
The documentary focuses on environmental damage caused by the collapse of a copper mine tailing dam controlled by Sino-Metals Ltd., sulfur dioxide released into the air by Avocado Mining Ltd., and dangerous working conditions in artisanal copper mines where Rong Xing Investment buys much of the production.
China's embassy in Lusaka tried to prevent the airing of this controversial documentary.
Business Insider Africa published on 1 July 2025 an article titled "Ghana and China Trade Blame as Tensions Rise over Surging Galamsey Activities" by Dorcas Agambila.
A surge in global gold prices has fueled a long-standing conflict in Ghana between illegal gold mining by Chinese nationals and the government of Ghana. China's ambassador to Ghana has tried to deflect blame.
Foreign Affairs published on 2 June 2025 an article titled "The War on Trees: How Illegal Logging Funds Cartels, Terrorists, and Rogue Regimes" by Justyna Gudzowska and Laura Ferris.
China is a major player in the global illegal logging industry. Much of the timber comes from Africa. Without a concerted effort by China to stop the trade, demand will ensure that it continues. The United States is complicit in that American consumers purchase many of the Chinese products manufactured with illegal timber.
The Pulitzer Center published on 30 April 2025 a commentary titled "Six Decades Later, Zambians Ask, 'Were Chinese Mining Infrastructure Investments Worth It?'" by Kang-Chun Cheng.
Mining, especially copper, accounts for almost three-quarters of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings and total exports. In the 1970s, China financed and built the railway for transporting minerals from Zambia to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Chinese companies invested heavily in Zambian mines. But human rights abuses, labor law infractions, and environmental practices have soured many Zambians on China's engagement in the country.
The government-sponsored Ethiopian Herald published on 6 May 2025 an article titled "The Deepening Strategic Relations between Ethiopia, China."
The article summarizes recent cooperation between China and Ethiopia in the fields of financing, infrastructure, investment, trade, and space. It concludes that "the overall trajectory of Ethiopia-China relations remains positive, characterized by mutual benefits and shared aspirations for economic development and modernization." It suggests that the China-Ethiopia "partnership serves as a model for South-South cooperation."
The Asia Society Policy Institute posted this week a commentary titled "Avoiding Conflicts and Ensuring U.S.-China Cooperation in Africa: An African Perspective" by Abdeta Beyene, Centre for Dialogue, Research and Cooperation in Addis Ababa.
The author argues that the United States and China have the potential to move beyond competition and instead foster meaningful cooperation in Africa. He suggests a number of ways that China-US collaboration could work to the benefit of Africa.
Comment: The author is correct that there is the potential for US-China cooperation in Africa and a number of years ago there actually was some modest cooperation. The prospect for US-China cooperation in Africa is dependent, however, on the existing Sino-American bilateral relationship, which has been severely strained in recent years. Until there is significant improvement in the China-US bilateral relationship, there is almost no prospect for collaboration in Africa.
The Conversation posted on 28 April 2025 a commentary titled "What Canada Can Learn from China on Effectively Engaging with Africa" by Isaac Odoom, Carleton University.
To build meaningful partnerships in Africa, Canada needs a more focused approach grounded in robust research, sharper priorities, and an informed understanding of Africa's political and economic realities.
The author argues Canada can draw important lessons from China's engagement in Africa. The "countering China" narrative pursued by the United States ignores African agency and fails to acknowledge that African governments want a choice of partners and do not want to be forced to select just one. Rather than compete with China in Africa, Canada can fill gaps left by China.
The International Crisis Group published on 28 April 2025 a paper titled "The Stakes of Stripping Climate from UN Peacekeeping in South Sudan" by Nazanine Moshiri.
The UN Security Council will soon vote on the future of the peacekeeping mission in conflict-impacted South Sudan. The paper discusses what is at stake and why climate and peace should remain part of the mission's work.
Switzerland-based NZZ published on 25 April 2025 an article titled "Charred Tanker Trucks, Oil Stains in the Sea: US Attack on Houthi Port in Yemen Causes Widespread Destruction" by Jessica Eberhart.
The April 18 US airstrike on the Houth-controlled Ras Isa oil port on the Red Sea in Yemen caused widespread damage as documented by drone and satellite coverage. The airstrike aimed to weaken the economic infrastructure of the Iranian-backed Houthis. The ports destruction may impact the environment, regional stability, and the local economy.
The Diplomat published on 7 April 2025 a commentary titled "How Chinese Investments Are Reshaping Africa's Steel Industry" by Sena Voncujovi.
For China, investing in Africa's steel industry is a strategic move to relocate surplus production and address slowing domestic demand. China is acquiring and developing iron ore mines and steel production facilities across Africa. This may help African nations move from being passive buyers of Chinese steel to active producers.
The International Crisis Group published on 21 March 2025 an analysis titled "Calming the Red Sea's Turbulent Waters."
The lengthy study concluded: "Now that the ceasefire has collapsed, renewed salvos between the U.S. and the Houthis, as well as the Houthis and Israel, amid rising tensions between Western states and Iran, and the potential for a fresh upsurge in fighting in Yemen have cast a darkening pall over the region. Lasting stability in the Red Sea will depend on steering these conflicts toward a peaceful conclusion."
The Associated Press published on 16 March 2025 an article titled "A River 'Died' Overnight in Zambia after an Acidic Waste Spill at a Chinese-owned Mine."
A tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a Chinese-owned copper mine collapsed in February, contaminating the Kafue River, Zambia's most important waterway.
POLITICO published on 27 February 2025 an article titled "Trump Wants to Shrink the State Department's Size, Reach and Focus" by Nahal Toosi.
Drawing on information from a person familiar with internal State Department discussions and a former U.S. official with ties to the Trump team, POLITICO reports that the Trump administration, fueled by Elon Musk and his DOGE mercenaries, wants to radically shrink the State Department--leaving it with fewer diplomats, s smaller number of embassies and a narrower remit.
While it is not clear how many embassies would be closed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly is on board with cutting a significant number.
Comment: From my desk on Capitol Hill, I think I hear the cheering in government, military, and intelligence offices in Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published in February 2025 a policy brief titled "Solar Power and Environmental Peacebuilding in South-Central Somalia" by Ann-Sophie Bohle and Kheira Tarif.
The policy brief explores how the International Organization for Migration's approach to solar power and the facilitation of local public-private partnerships can support environmental peacebuilding at three levels: the community level, the local business level, and the district council level.
The Wall Street Journal published on 10 February 2025 an article titled "How Much the U.S. Spent on Foreign Aid--and Where It Went" by Gabriele Steinhauser and Ming Li.
This is a useful analysis of the money spent by the United States Agency for International Development that the Trump administration is in the process of dismantling. It explains where the money goes, how it compares to foreign aid from other countries, how it is distributed, and which countries receive most of it.
Agence France-Presse published on 6 February 2025 an article titled "Nigeria's Lithium Boom: Chinese Buyers, Local Struggles, and a Global Race" by Leslie Fauvel.
China is the world's largest refiner and consumer of lithium but must import large quantities. Consequently, most buyers in Nigeria are Chinese. In order to increase profits in Nigeria, the government wants investors to set up local processing plants. So far, only Chinese companies are doing this but engaging in questionable mining practices in the process.
The International Crisis Group published on 10 December 2024 a study titled "Fighting Climate Change in Somalia's Conflict Zones."
Somalia experienced a prolonged, extreme drought between 2020 and 2023 that caused a humanitarian emergency and fueled conflict with the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. Local resentment of the group's harsh methods during severe water shortages eventually led to a military offensive that put the insurgents on the back foot.
In Somalia, climate change and conflict are increasingly intertwined. Al-Shabaab uses access to water and other natural resources to levy taxes on herders and farmers, as well as to punish communities that resist its control. But it has also proven persuadable by social pressure during climate shocks.
The Atlantic Council published on 26 November 2024 a commentary titled "The US Won't Gain a Lead in the Competition for Africa's Critical Minerals Without Innovation" by Chris Moorman.
In order to compete successfully with China for Africa's critical minerals, it needs to form partnerships with African countries that are economically feasible, environmentally sustainable, and ethical. The only way to do that is by driving innovation along the critical minerals supply chain, specifically in processing and refining.
