The China in Africa Podcast

Quite often, foreign leaders travel to China without a clear strategy for turning high-level diplomacy into tangible economic gains. This was on display earlier this year when U.S. President Donald Trump's much-hyped summit yielded few actionable outcomes.
Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took a different approach during her visit to Beijing in July. She arrived with specific priorities, a clear understanding of Namibia's leverage, and a strong focus on investment, value addition, and job creation.
Ovigwe Eguegu and Huiyi Chen, policy analysts at the international development consultancy Development Reimagined, argued in a column published in The Diplomat that Nandi-Ndaitwah's approach offers important lessons for other leaders, particularly in Africa, on how to turn high-level visits to China into meaningful outcomes.
They join Eric and Geraud to discuss those lessons and what other African governments can learn from Namibia's approach.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
🇳🇦 Namibia's strategy for engaging China 🇨🇳 Turning high-level diplomacy into tangible outcomes 💰 Attracting Chinese investment and financing 🏭 Promoting value addition and industrialization 💼 Creating jobs through strategic partnerships ♟️ Understanding and leveraging Africa's bargaining power 🌍 Lessons for other African leaders engaging Beijing
Show Notes:
The Diplomat: As the World Courts Beijing, Namibia Shows How Africa Can Sharpen Its China Strategy by Ovigwe Eguegu and Huiyi Chen
The China-Global South Project: Tshisekedi's Trip to China Was a Total Waste of Time and It's His Fault by Eric Olander
South China Morning Post: Why Kenyan President Ruto's visit is a 'symbolic' win for China as US tariffs rock world by Jevans Nyabiage
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China's popularity across Africa remains strong, with new Afrobarometer polling showing Beijing again outperforming the U.S. and Europe in public perception. But those favorable views are far from straightforward, shaped by perceptions of China's development success, frustration with Western powers, and Africans' own experiences with Chinese engagement.
Ebenezer Obadare, the Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Eric & Cobus to unpack what the polling reveals about China's enduring appeal and shifting African views of the U.S. and Europe.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
🇨🇳 Why China remains popular across Africa 📊 What Afrobarometer's latest polling reveals 🇺🇸 Changing African views of the U.S. and Europe 🏗️ The appeal of China's development model 🤝 How Chinese engagement shapes perceptions 🌍 Why U.S.-China rivalry isn't zero-sum in Africa
Show Notes:
Afrobarometer: African insights 2026: Beyond borders: Citizen perspectives on a shifting global order
The Africa Report: Poll: US lags behind China in African hearts and minds by Julian Pecquet
Foreign Affairs: How China Is Winning Friends and Influencing People by Eric Olander and Lizzi Lee
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

Young Africans increasingly see China as an important partner, but their support comes with clear expectations about what that relationship should deliver, according to findings from the recently published 2026 African Youth Survey.
China's infrastructure, investment, and visible economic presence have strengthened its standing, but young Africans increasingly expect that engagement to translate into high-value jobs, industrialization, skills, and greater benefits from the continent's resources.
Ivor Ichikowitz, chairman of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, joins Eric and Cobus to unpack the latest African Youth Survey and what it reveals about a more assertive generation that values China's engagement while insisting that the relationship evolve on Africa's terms.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
🇨🇳 Why China resonates with African youth
🌍 Pragmatism over geopolitical loyalty
💼 Demand for better jobs and industrialization
⛏️ Keeping more value from Africa's resources
🗳️ Frustration with governance and political systems
✊🏾 A more confident generation asserting African agency
Show Notes:
The Ichikowitz Family Foundation: 2026 African Youth Survey
South China Morning Post: Practical' young Africans leaning towards China over US and away from ideology by Jevans Nyabiage
Bloomberg: China Bolsters its Influence Over Africa's Youth, Survey Shows by Antony Sguazzin and Rene Vollgraaff
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

China is moving quickly to expand its influence over global governance as the United States steps back from its traditional leadership role. Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping unveiled the World Artificial Intelligence Organization, a new Shanghai-based institution with 29 founding members, most from Asia and Africa, that Beijing hopes will help shape the global rules governing AI.
The new organization is the latest in a series of Chinese initiatives aimed at reshaping the international order to better reflect Beijing's priorities. Through efforts such as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and now the WAIO, China is positioning itself not just as a participant in the existing system, but as an architect of new global rules.
Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China at Chatham House in London, joins Eric to discuss whether Beijing can turn its diplomatic ambitions into lasting influence and why many countries in the Global South are receptive to China's vision.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China's vision for reshaping global governance
Why AI is central to Beijing's diplomatic strategy
The World Artificial Intelligence Organization (WAIO)
Why the Global South is embracing China's initiatives
Can China match its ambitions with resources?
How Beijing's approach differs from the West
Show Notes:
Chatham House: China sets out its vision for a new global order – but will it commit the resources to match its ambition? by Yu Jie
The Diplomat: With New AI Governance Organization, China Seeks to Formalize Its Global AI Influence by Michael Caster
The China-Global South Project: For China, the Race for AI Supremacy Runs Through the Global South by Eric Olander
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas

There's growing optimism across Africa, Latin America, and Asia that abundant reserves of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel can fuel a new era of economic development. Determined to avoid the "resource curse" that enriched foreign companies while leaving local populations behind, governments are increasingly moving to ban exports of raw ores and instead promote domestic processing and refining.
It's an appealing strategy, but far more difficult to implement than many realize.
Wei Shen and Anabel Marín, senior research fellows at the Institute of Development Studies in London, argue that processing alone won't transform resource-rich economies. In a new paper, they explain why lasting prosperity depends on building the knowledge, institutions, and technological capabilities needed to move up the value chain. They join Eric to discuss what it will really take for developing countries to turn critical mineral wealth into sustainable development.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
Why critical minerals alone won't create prosperity
Can resource nationalism break the resource curse?
Why processing isn't enough to move up the value chain
The role of knowledge and state capacity in development
What China got right in building its mineral industry
How developing countries can capture more value from critical minerals
Show Notes:
WATCH: Critical minerals and development: Breaking the structural impasse with Wei Shen and Anabel Marín
Institute of Development Studies: China's role in critical mineral mining and its impacts by Wei Shen
Institute of Development Studies: Living in a material world: What critical minerals mean for development by Wei Shen and Anabel Marín
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud | @stadenesque
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth
Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social
Follow CGSP in French and Spanish: 
French: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine
Spanish: www.chinalasamericas.com | @ChinaAmericas