The China in Africa Podcast

From the streets of Beijing to the halls of Peking University, Geraud shares what's changed in China after a decade away — and how Chinese scholars are rethinking Africa beyond the traditional "China-Africa" lens. Geraud joins Eric & Cobus from the Chinese capital to discuss the new mood in Beijing, declining foreign presence, and what African diplomats and researchers really think about the future of ties with China.
Plus, French President Emmanuel Macron focused a lot of attention on China during his recent trip to Kenya, where he accused Beijing of becoming the continent's new "predator." And, a breakdown of the latest China-Africa trade numbers that reveal some very big problems.
📌 Topics Covered in this Episode
Geraud's return to Beijing after 10 years
The changing mood inside China on Africa
Why fewer foreigners are living in Beijing
Chinese scholars rethinking Africa studies
Macron's China comments during his Kenya visit
Africa's growing trade imbalance with China
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
Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP 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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

The U.S. created the post-World War II international order that it no longer wants to lead today. But what replaces it is still unknown. So, in the meantime, small and medium-sized countries, so-called "middle powers," are scrambling to form new partnerships to insulate themselves from the inevitable instability that will arise from this transition.
We're seeing this play out daily now as leaders from South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Japan, and dozens of other countries crisscross the globe at a frenetic pace to build what many are describing as a new middle-power coalition.
But Sarang Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute, argued in a Foreign Policy column that it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, for a coalition like this to succeed. Sarang joins Eric to explain why divergent north-south interests will be very hard to overcome.
📌 Topics Covered in this Episode
Rapid global realignment among middle powers
Declining trust in U.S.-led institutions
BRICS and alternative power coalitions
China's growing Global South influence
Transactional diplomacy and diversification
What the next world order may look like
Show Notes:
Foreign Policy: Can Middle Powers Gel? by Sarang Shidore
The New York Times: American Supremacy Is Over, and Something New Is Coming by Sarang Shidore
Politico: Trump Is Demolishing the Global Order. Here's What Might Come Next.
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
Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP 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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

With the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China all moving quickly to secure new supplies of African critical minerals, more attention is now shifting to the strategic supply chains that will get those resources from mine to port to market.
The U.S. and Europe have invested billions to refurbish the Lobito Corridor that stretches from the DRC and Angola all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Chinese have committed nearly two billion dollars to upgrade the aging TAZARA railway that links Zambia to the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, joins Eric & Géraud to discuss how Japan is placing its bet on the Nacala Corridor — a much lower profile, yet potentially far more important route that links Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Topics Covered in This Episode
Major powers competing for Africa's trade corridors
The strategic importance of the Nacala Corridor
China's role in African infrastructure and logistics
Japan's approach to supply chain diversification
Critical minerals and the race up the value chain
The Lobito and TAZARA corridors explained
Show Notes:
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies: Reciprocal and Resilient Mineral Supply Chains: Lessons from the Nacala Corridor by Paul Nantulya
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @christiangeraud
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
Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP 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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was forced to cancel a scheduled visit to Eswatini this week after Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Madagascar revoked Lai's flight permits. Authorities in Taipei immediately accused Beijing of using economic coercion against these three countries, a narrative that was quickly picked up by the international media and conservative lawmakers in the U.S.
There is no evidence supporting the claim of coercion or the reported threat that China would impose economic sanctions or revoke debt relief against these three countries. In fact, none of the African countries involved is in any kind of debt distress to China.
Eric, Géraud, and Cobus discuss why it was likely the exercise of African agency, rather than any pressure from China, that prompted the decision to close off their airspace to Lai's plane. 
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
Why Taiwan's Africa trip was suddenly canceled
Claims of Chinese "economic coercion" examined
The reality of African countries' debt exposure to China
How US media and policymakers framed the story
Why African states had little incentive to say yes
The role of China's red lines in global diplomacy
How narratives diverge from facts in global coverage
What this reveals about Africa's agency in foreign policy
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque | @christiangeraud
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
Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP 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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth

China is the indispensable actor in Africa's tech ecosystem. From Huawei's telecom infrastructure to Transsion's dominant smartphone brands and Hikvision's surveillance systems, Chinese technologies are now deeply embedded across the continent, often holding leading market share in their sectors.
While the prominent role of Chinese technology has delivered significant benefits to African governments and consumers, it's also raised serious concerns among activists and policymakers around data privacy, the expansion of surveillance capabilities, and well-documented misuse by authoritarian-leaning governments.
Bulelani Jili, an assistant professor at Georgetown University and a leading scholar on China–Africa technology engagement, joins Eric and Cobus to discuss his latest research exploring the tension between how Chinese technology can drive meaningful empowerment and create potentially dangerous dependencies.
Show Notes: 
African Affairs: Pedagogies of Digital Sovereignty: The Un/Making Of Dependency Through Technical Education in Kenya by Bulelani Jili
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
Join us on Patreon!
Become a CGSP 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 CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth