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 Cobus 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

• 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

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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

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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

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The Chinese government this week unveiled a new vision for the emerging post-American-led international order. In a new white paper, Beijing argued that the existing global system does not need to be replaced or rebuilt. Instead, it called for the United Nations to remain at the center of global governance while giving developing countries a greater voice in international decision-making.

Eric and Cobus discuss China's push for global governance reform and why many African countries are backing Beijing's position. Plus, Kenya becomes the latest front in the contest between China and Taiwan after Nairobi acquiesced to Beijing's pressure and blocked Taiwanese delegates from attending an oceans forum in Mombasa.

• China's new vision for global governance
• Why African countries support Beijing's proposal
• The UN's role in a changing world order
• China's growing influence in the Global South
• Kenya blocks Taiwanese delegates from oceans forum
• The escalating China–Taiwan contest in Africa

Show Notes:

• Full text: More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China's Principles, Proposals and Actions
• South China Morning Post: The white paper making China's case for new rules for the world's new frontiers by Orange Wang
• Al Jazeera: Taiwan accuses Kenya of deporting conference delegates on China's behalf

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Taiwan's delegates to the Our Ocean Conference scheduled to take place in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa next week will not be permitted to participate, according to a well-placed source. If this is the case, it would mark the third major setback for Taiwan in Africa over the past several weeks.

Last month, the digital rights conference Rightscon was canceled in Lusaka, in part due to pressure from the Chinese embassy to block the participation of a small group of delegates from Taiwan. Around the same time, three African Indian Ocean island states refused to grant Taiwan President Lai Ching-te permission to overfly for a scheduled trip to Eswatini.

Plus, Eric, Cobus & Géraud discuss how a labor dispute at a massive Chinese-run cobalt mine in the DRC came to an end and the latest in the U.S.-China critical minerals competition in Africa.

📌 Topics Covered in This Episode

• Taiwan's shrinking diplomatic space in Africa
• Kenya, China, and the Taiwan question
• Congo's critical minerals and coltan smuggling
• Labor unrest at a major Chinese-owned mine
• Resource nationalism vs. mining investment
• The global race for critical mineral supply chains

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