The China in Africa Podcast

China's engagement across Africa is increasingly shaped by both high-level geopolitics and competition in everyday markets. Somalia's renewed ties with Beijing are being driven in part by the Somaliland question, particularly its growing relationship with Taiwan. At the same time, Chinese companies continue expanding their commercial footprint across the continent.
The U.S.-China technology contest is also playing out in Africa, but the scale of investment highlights a significant gap between American initiatives such as Africell and China's established ICT infrastructure footprint. Meanwhile, Chinese automakers are rapidly gaining ground in South Africa, while electric two-wheelers could reshape mobility and the gig economy across African cities.
Eric Olander, Geraud Neema and Cobus van Staden examine what these developments reveal about China's changing role in Africa, from the strategic importance of Somaliland and Taiwan to the realities of competing with Chinese technology and adapting to African consumers.

📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
China-Somalia ties and the Somaliland question
U.S.-China competition over African telecom infrastructure
Chinese electric vehicles and Africa's mobility future
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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

Kenya's crackdown on foreigners operating small businesses has put Chinese traders at the center of a wider debate over competition, immigration, and economic opportunity. President William Ruto's targeting of foreign merchants has raised concerns about xenophobia while exposing deeper frustrations over how Chinese businesses operate in Kenya's informal economy.
China's role in Africa is also expanding beyond trade. Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt highlighted Beijing's push for a greater role in Middle East and African security, while Chinese drones, weapons, and military training are gaining ground across the continent. At the same time, China's engagement is being framed through competing narratives of influence and "empire."
This week, we have a Roundtable episode where we look at China's evolving role in Africa, including Kenya's crackdown, China-Egypt relations, and the growth of Chinese arms sales.


📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
Kenya's crackdown on foreign small businesses
Chinese traders and concerns over unfair competition
Xi Jinping's Egypt visit and China's push for a greater security role
The Global Civilization Initiative and China's engagement with the Global South
Chinese drones and arms sales across Africa
African countries diversifying their military partnerships for greater strategic autonomy
Challenging narratives about Chinese influence, debt, and African agency
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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 influence in Africa's media landscape increasingly operates through content-sharing agreements, journalist training, paid placements, and support for local broadcasters. These "below-the-line" strategies give Chinese narratives a pathway into African newsrooms that extends well beyond the reach of traditional state outlets such as CGTN and Xinhua.
But the push for greater Chinese influence raises a deeper question about decolonization. While Beijing presents its media engagement as an alternative to Western dominance, African journalists can be exposed to models of reporting that do not necessarily fit local political and social realities. At the same time, the shift toward social media makes the actual impact of these efforts increasingly difficult to measure.
Emeka Umejei, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the arguments from his book China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization, content-sharing agreements, journalist training, and the future of African media independence.

Show Notes

China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization by Emeka Umejei
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China's evolving media influence across Africa
The rise of content-sharing agreements with African news outlets
Journalist training, media exchanges, and the spread of Chinese reporting models
The tension between China's "decolonization" narrative and African media independence
How Chinese economic engagement strengthens its media influence
The shift toward social media and the uncertain impact of foreign media campaigns on African audiences
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @stadenesque I @emekaumejei
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: 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-Africa trade is surging and could top $400 billion this year, but the headline figure obscures a relationship that remains heavily concentrated among a small number of countries and increasingly tilted toward Chinese exports.
Much of what Africa sells to China is still made up of commodities and raw materials, while Chinese exports increasingly include machinery, chemicals, components, and other intermediate goods that can support local manufacturing and industrial development.
The bigger question is whether African countries should focus less on trying to eliminate trade deficits with China and more on using cheaper Chinese inputs, improving their domestic business environments, and expanding intra-African trade to build stronger and more competitive economies.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode: 🇨🇳 China-Africa trade heading toward record highs ⚖️ Understanding Africa's widening trade deficit with China 🏭 How Chinese intermediate goods can support African industrialization 📦 Why African exports to China remain dominated by raw materials 🌍 Using intra-African trade to strengthen African economies 💰 Whether China's zero-tariff policy can really change the trade relationship


Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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

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