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The China-Global South Podcast
The China-Global South Podcast

The China-Global South Podcast

A weekly discussion on Chinese engagement in the developing world from the news team of The China-Global South Project (CGSP). Join hosts Eric Olander in Vietnam and Cobus van Staden in South Africa for insightful interviews with scholars, analysts, and journalists from around the world. You'll also get regular updates from CGSP's editors in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.</p>

Available Episodes 10

Chilean President Gabriel Boric oversaw the signing of a $233 million lithium deal with Chinese mining giant Tsingshan Holding Group, the latest investment that solidifies China's dominance of the fiercely contested EV battery metal supply chain.

In just the past few months alone, Chinese firms have moved quickly to lock up similar mining and processing deals in Morocco, Nigeria, Bolivia, and Zimbabwe, among other countries.

Henry Sanderson, executive editor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, joins Eric & Geraud to discuss these latest deals and what the implications are for G7 countries that are looking to build alternate non-Chinese supply chains for critical resources.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green by Henry Sanderson: https://a.co/d/7kDJxds

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hjesanderson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-sanderson-9889297

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China's economy emerged from the pandemic much weaker than before. Unemployment is up, exports are down and a burgeoning property crisis is having a devastating impact on local government finances.

These changes in the economy are happening very fast, so quickly that's it difficult for experts to keep pace with what's happening, much less among those who don't closely follow Chinese economic trends -- particularly in developing countries.

Michael Pettis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is one of the world's foremost scholars on the Chinese economy. He joins Eric this week to discuss how the dramatic changes that are now taking place in China will impact countries throughout the Global South.

SHOW NOTES:

Amazon: Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace: https://amzn.to/46Iiqel

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @michaelxpettis

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

There's growing anxiety in the United States over China's expanding presence in the Latin America-Caribbean (LAC) region. Last week, a Congressional subcommittee held another breathless hearing that warned of the dangers of "Communism on our shores."

That concern in Washington is based, in part, on surging Chinese trade with LAC countries, more investment, and a growing ideological alignment with Beijing's worldview among many of the region's largest countries.

LAC countries are also key destinations for Chinese-backed infrastructure projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

But contrary to the simplistic narratives in Washington about Chinese engagement in Latin America, Bruno Binetti, a China Foresight Associate at LSE Ideas and a non-resident fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, says the region's ties with Beijing are undergoing profound change. Bruno joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to explain how.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @binettibruno

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brunobinetti

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth


The Chinese economy is in trouble. Exports, manufacturing output, and investment are all down. Unemployment, particularly among young people is up. Provincial debt is now at a record $8 trillion while a burgeoning property crisis has eliminated a once reliable source of revenue for local governments.

The financial difficulties that China is now experiencing have direct implications on dozens, if not hundreds of developing countries around the world that have come to rely on Chinese demand to bolster their own economies.

Lizzi Li, an economist and reporter at the Chinese language television network Wall Street TV, joins Eric & Cobus from New York to discuss what's behind the economic slowdown in China and why it's critical that policymakers and other stakeholders in the Global South learn quickly how to adapt to the new economic realities that are taking shape.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @wstv_lizzi

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

There was a glimmer of hope last month that China and India would pull back from their increasingly contentious standoff when military commanders concluded talks along their disputed border on a somewhat optimistic note. The hope was that these talks would pave the way for leaders from both countries to meet while they were together at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did meet briefly in South Africa but it did nothing to stall the downward spiral in relations between the two Asian powers.

Ananth Krishnan, an associate editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi and one of the foremost experts on Sino-Indian relations, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why ties have soured so badly and what to expect going forward.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @ananthkrishnan

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth


China's Belt and Road Initiative marked its 10th anniversary this month, prompting a lot of discussion about what's next for Beijing's controversial development agenda. While BRI spending in Africa and the Americas has plummeted in recent years that is not the case closer to home in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia, in particular, stands apart from other countries in terms of its growing dependence on Chinese economic engagement -- both from government-backed BRI projects and private investors who have transformed major cities like Sihanoukville (not always for the better).

Wang Yuan, an assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University, and Linda Calabrese, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, published a paper last month that examined China's hugely important economic presence in Cambodia and join Eric & Cobus to discuss what lessons other developing countries can learn from Phnom Penh's experience.

SHOW NOTES:

  • World Development: Chinese capital, regulatory strength and the BRI: A tale of ‘fractured development’ in Cambodia: https://bit.ly/3PlXqTU


JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @lindacalab

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

The failure of G20 countries last month to agree on a plan to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 highlights a key problem in the ongoing debate over how to respond to climate change: the institutions that are designed to help solve this problem are failing.

It's not clear what China's role was in that debate at the G20 but elsewhere Beijing's actions on combatting climate change are somewhat contradictory. While China is by far the world's leader in renewable energy and green transportation, it's also the world's largest polluter, thanks in part to its reliance on coal power.

This week, Byron Tsang, a London-based senior policy advisor at the independent climate change think tank E3G and Madhura Joshi, a senior research associate for E3G in Mumbai, join Eric & Cobus to discuss the current state of global climate diplomacy.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @madhurajoshi23 | @byfordt

LinkedIn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

China's critics contend the Belt and Road Initiative is dead or dying due to a mix of gross mismanagement and hubris. The data, however, reveals a very different story. While lending has definitely decreased considerably from its peak in 2016, the BRI is very much alive -- it just looks very different today than it did even a few years ago.

Instead of expensive large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, Chinese lenders are now focusing more on smaller initiatives related to technology, renewable energy, and connectivity. In fact, Chinese creditors lent more money to finance green energy initiatives in the first half of the year than in any other 6-month period since the BRI launched a decade ago.

Christoph Nedopil, founding director of the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University has been closely tracking the evolution of the BRI and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what the latest data on BRI lending reveals about its future.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

X: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander | @nedopil

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nedopil

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject

For much of the past 20 years, China sought to radically expand its presence beyond its traditional spheres of influence to new regions in Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. China lent billions to countries in these regions and devoted considerable diplomatic capital to building political influence there as well.

But now, in this new era of Great Power competition with the United States and Europe, China is once again shifting its focus, this time closer to home in Asia. Its so-called "near abroad" is now by far the most consequential region for China both in terms of trade and, increasingly, new security challenges.

Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute and a visiting senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, is one of the world's leading experts on China's relations in Central Asia and joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why this region, in particular, is now so important to Beijing.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

Twitter: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander |@raffpantucci | @chinaeurasia

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject


In June, Zambia reached what's been described as a landmark debt restructuring deal that for the first time brought together the country's bilateral creditors including China, traditional Paris Club lenders and bondholders.

While the deal is no doubt unprecedented, it also reveals that China was very effective in successful in getting the parties to agree to many of its demands.

Matt Mingey, a senior analyst at the consultancy Rhodium Group, is among the world's foremost experts on Chinese lending and debt issues. He joins Eric & Cobus from Washington, D.C. to discuss whether China is, in fact, setting the agenda for debt restructurings in the Global South.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

Twitter: @ChinaGSProject@stadenesque | @eric_olander |@mattmingey

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject

YouTubewww.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth

FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:

Françaiswww.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine

عربيwww.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr

JOIN US ON PATREON!

Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!

www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject