The China in Africa Podcast

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

There's good news and bad news for African countries in the latest China trade figures released this week. On the positive side, African exports to China surged in May and June, driven by strong demand for oil, metals, and agricultural products. China's new tariff-free policy for African goods is clearly beginning to make a difference.
The downside is that almost all of this export growth came from raw, unprocessed commodities, reinforcing Africa's position at the bottom of the industrial value chain. Today, roughly 90% of Africa's exports to China are raw materials, and the latest trade data shows that pattern remains firmly intact.
There are signs, however, that this could begin to change. Sanusha Naidu, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue in South Africa, joins Eric to discuss how Namibia and other African countries are pressing China to invest in local processing and manufacturing so more value is added before raw materials leave the continent.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China's latest Africa trade figures
Winners and losers from zero tariffs
Beyond raw materials and mining
Namibia's new strategy with China
FOCAC 2027 priorities take shape
Can Africa capture more value?
Show Notes:
South China Morning Post: China's imports from Africa surge after Beijing expands zero-tariff policy by Mia Nurmamat
China Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Joint Statement Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Namibia on Building a China-Namibia Community with a Shared Future for the New Era
Reuters: China's African Tariff Removals, Trade Surge Spur Yuan Adoption by Duncan Miriri
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

When China removed import tariffs on goods from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations earlier this year, many hailed the move as a breakthrough that could boost African exports and help narrow the growing trade imbalance between the two sides.
While tariff-free access makes it easier for African products to enter the Chinese market, experts caution that tariffs are only one piece of the puzzle. The bigger challenge, says Jing Gu, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, is ensuring that African exporters are truly prepared to compete in one of the world's most demanding markets.
Jing joins Eric and Géraud to explain why African governments, businesses, and trade institutions need to strengthen their understanding of the Chinese market, build closer commercial relationships, and develop the logistics, distribution networks, and market expertise needed to succeed in China.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China's Zero Tariff Initiative
Market Access vs. Market Readiness
Exporting Successfully to China
Building China Market Expertise
African Trade Policy Gaps
Competing in China's Market
Rethinking FOCAC Trade Priorities
The Future of China-Africa Trade
Show Notes:
Institute of Development Studies: From market access to strategic openness: The new China–Africa business relationship by Jing Gu
South China Morning Post: Coffee, chilies and cashews: a new recipe to spice up China-Africa trade relations by Jevans Nyabiage
The China-Global South Project: China's Zero-Tariff Promise to Africa Masks a Deepening Trade Imbalance by Thierry Pairault
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

Anti-immigrant protests in South Africa have raised difficult questions about race, class, and who gets targeted during waves of xenophobic anger. While Black African migrants have faced growing hostility, Chinese migrants and other foreign communities have largely avoided the same scrutiny.
This week, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud examine why that is, and what it reveals about poverty, politics, and state dysfunction in South Africa. They also unpack a new set of China-South Africa trade protocols that could quietly expand bilateral trade, especially as Pretoria's relationship with Washington becomes more strained.
Finally, they reflect on recent conversations in Nairobi, South Africa, Beijing, and New York about China, Africa, and the Global South's place in a rapidly changing world order.


📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
South Africa's anti-immigrant protests
Why some migrants are targeted
Are Chinese migrants part of the backlash?
China-South Africa trade protocols
Africa's trade imbalance with China
African agency in U.S.-China competition


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

Kenya's landmark debt restructuring deal with China, announced last year, converted $3 billion in outstanding China Exim Bank loans from U.S. dollars to Chinese yuan. The currency switch could save the East African country more than $200 million in debt servicing costs.
Not surprisingly, other countries in Asia and Africa are now exploring similar arrangements to reduce their debt burdens. But a new report from the development finance research lab AidData argues that Kenya's savings came mostly from the restructuring terms — not from the yuan conversion itself.
AidData's Oshin Pandey and Sailor Miao join Eric and Cobus to explain how the deal worked, why it matters, and why there is more to this arrangement than most headlines suggest.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
Kenya's landmark China debt deal
Debt restructuring vs. yuan conversion
Why AidData challenges the narrative
Ethiopia's restructuring prospects
China's evolving lending strategy
The future of sovereign debt relief
Show Notes:
AidData: Kenya's USD-to-RMB Debt Conversion Was Really a Restructuring by Sailor Miao and Oshin Pandey
The China-Global South Project: Kenya's Chinese Debt Swap Comes With a Hidden Currency Risk
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