Best Cobus van Staden Podcasts (2024)

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Update on the State of the BRI in the New "Small and Beautiful" Era 56:16

2h ago56:16

56:16

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about the new "small and beautiful" doctrine that now guides China's Belt and Road Initiative. The problem is that a lot of people still do not understand what it actually means in practice. President Xi Jinping first unveiled the concept at the Third Belt-and-Road Symposium in 2021 when he said that China…

1
Chinese Companies Engage in Massive "Forest Looting" in the DR Congo 39:44

1h ago39:44

39:44

Two Chinese logging companies are now the largest timber harvesters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with concessions sized at more than 3 million hectares. The firms, Wan Peng and Booming Green, are engaged in industrial-scale logging to export raw timber mostly back to China. But researchers at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Power Shift: China’s Role in Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Transformation 59:28

1d ago59:28

59:28

Even though the five countries in Central Asia are among the world's largest fossil fuel producers, the region faces chronic electricity shortages due to a lack of refining capacity. The energy crunch is further compounded by a reluctance to become overly dependent on Russian fuel. To solve both problems, several Central Asian governments are looki…

1
Stymied in the West, Chinese EV Brands Look to Expand in Africa 41:19

6d ago41:19

41:19

Just over a million new vehicles were sold in Africa last year, a relatively small number given the continent's enormous population, estimated at 1.5 billion. Chinese auto brands are looking at that discrepancy and think it provides a unique opportunity for rapid expansion, particularly in the budding electric vehicle market. BAIC Motors, BYD, Xpen…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] India Claims Major Breakthrough in Border Stand-off With China 50:22

8d ago50:22

50:22

India and China have reached a deal to de-escalate tensions along their bitterly disputed border in the Himalayas, potentially ending a contentious four-year stand-off between the two Asian powers. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday that the two countries agreed to conduct joint military patrols along the border known as the Line …

1
Global Gateway in Africa: Europe's Answer to China's Belt and Road 1:00:03

12d ago1:00:03

1:00:03

The European Commission's Global Gateway initiative will turn three years old in December. The $300 billion infrastructure initiative was launched with great fanfare to provide developing countries in Africa and elsewhere with an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Many European stakeholders also hoped that Global Gateway would catalyz…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Paying a High Cost for Its "All-Weather" Relationship With Pakistan 51:00

16d ago51:00

51:00

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Pakistan this week to get ties with its South Asian neighbor back on track after a series of terrorist attacks this year. The latest incident occurred earlier this month near the airport in the southern port city of Karachi when separatist militants with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) killed two Chinese nationals in…

1
Judd Devermont on the State of U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa 1:00:24

19d ago1:00:24

1:00:24

U.S. President Joe Biden was supposed to be in Angola this week, fulfilling a pledge to visit the continent he made back at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. But with massive hurricanes pounding the southern United States, the president was forced to postpone the visit. The trip to Angola would have marked a major milestone for Biden. The southw…

1
Beyond Railways and Ports: China's Evolving Lending Strategy in Africa 51:52

23d ago51:52

51:52

Chinese lending to African countries rebounded in a big way in 2023 after seven consecutive years of decline. Last year, Chinese lenders approved loans totaling $4.61 billion to African borrowers, a dramatic increase over the $922 million lent in 2022, according to Boston University's Global Development Policy Center (GDPC). In the past, China lent…

51
Negotiating Chinese Infrastructure Deals: Lessons From Two African Countries 39:16

26d ago39:16

39:16

Africa is the only region in the world where access to electricity is actually shrinking. Prolonged drought across large swathes of the continent has severely impacted hydropower production, triggering large-scale electricity outages — most notably in Zambia. China plays a critical role in this crisis, both as a major financier of African power inf…

1
Railroads and Rivalries in Southern Africa 1:04:48

1M ago1:04:48

1:04:48

The U.S. and China plan to spend billions of dollars refurbishing key railway lines in southern Africa that link critical resource mining hubs in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with ports on both sides of the continent. For the U.S., it's the Lobito Atlantic Railway that goes from the copper belt in Zambia 1,300km west across Angol…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Response to the Wars in the Middle East 48:13

1M ago48:13

48:13

The rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon prompted a strong reaction from the Chinese government this week. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday at the UN in New York and condemned Israel's actions as “indiscriminate attacks against civilians." It's notable, th…

1
[WEEK IN REVIEW] Illegal Chinese Miners in Ghana Have Been Warned 1:01:00

1M ago1:01:00

1:01:00

China's new ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, spoke out forcefully this week to condemn the ongoing problem of illegal mining in the country and issued a fresh warning to his compatriots that if they are caught breaking the law, the embassy will not be there to bail them out. Also, Kenyan President William Ruto traveled to Germany where he was once a…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] How Persian Gulf Countries Are Responding to the U.S.-China Rivalry 35:07

2M ago35:07

35:07

For much of the past thirty years, since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been largely unrivaled in its power in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. Today, that is no longer the case as the U.S. faces new challenges both from regional powers like Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as international competitors, including China and Russia.…

1
Can China Help Africa Become the Next Factory of the World? 46:25

2M ago46:25

46:25

For decades, African governments have tried to lure Chinese manufacturing companies to set up factories in their countries with the promise of an abundant supply of low-cost labor. Other than a few high-profile companies, Chinese companies, for the most part, have balked — preferring instead to offshore production closer to home in Southeast Asia. …

1
[DOUBLE EPISODE] The China-Africa Summit Debrief 1:31:40

2M ago1:31:40

1:31:40

The three-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit wrapped up in Beijing on Friday. The big headline from this year's gathering was the announcement that China will provide $50.7 billion in financing to African countries over the next three years. Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the customary mega pledge as part of a ten-point act…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Why the U.S. is Struggling to Compete in the Global Competition for Critical Resources 56:54

2M ago56:54

56:54

U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to end their country's dependency on China for the critical resources needed to power next-generation mobility and technology. Part of the solution, they say, is to compete directly with the Chinese for lithium, cobalt, and other critical mineral mining rights around the world. The problem …

1
[BONUS EPISODE] Chinese, African Perspectives on the FOCAC Summit 59:00

2M ago59:00

59:00

This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit comes at a critical time for governments in both regions. While China is embroiled in an increasingly contentious great power duel with the United States, African governments are under mounting economic and social pressures. These challenges are prompting Chinese and African scholars to w…

1
David Monyae on the Politics of FOCAC 29:01

2M ago29:01

29:01

Final preparations are underway for the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, which begins on September 4th in Beijing. This year's event comes at a particularly fraught time amid wars in Europe, the Middle East and the simmering Great Power rivalry between the United States and China. David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-Ch…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] View From Israel: China's Growing Influence in the Middle East 33:26

2M ago33:26

33:26

In September 2023, just weeks before Hamas' devastating terrorist attack on October 7th, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his foreign policy advisors were preparing for a summit meeting in China with President Xi Jinping. There were even whispers Beijing would help facilitate a rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia much as it did betwe…

1
Energy is Going to be the Hot Topic at Upcoming China-Africa Summit 44:58

3M ago44:58

44:58

African leaders will soon travel to Beijing to participate in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, which will begin on September 4th. Many of those heads of state will arrive in the Chinese capital with a rather long wish list of infrastructure development projects they're hoping to pitch to Chinese financiers. Many of those initi…

1
African Priorities at the Upcoming China Summit 54:31

3M ago54:31

54:31

African leaders and their delegations are making final preparations to travel to Beijing soon for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit that will begin on September 4th. This year's gathering comes at a critical time in the relationship between these two regions. African leaders are looking for ways to move their economies up the val…

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Westlessness: A New Era Where the West Still Matters, Just Not as Much 51:30

3M ago51:30

51:30

Chinese President Xi Jinping has long touted the East's rise and the West's decline, the kind of thinking that's triggered his supporters to fantasize about a post-Western geopolitical order. While it's indisputable that U.S. and European countries, which represent the foundational pillars of the Western system, have seen their power diminish in th…

1
China-Africa Summit Preview: What’s on the Agenda for FOCAC 9? 39:12

3M ago39:12

39:12

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit is now less than a month away. Chinese President Xi Jinping will host dozens of African leaders in Beijing in the first week of September for the triennial gathering that comes at a critical time for African countries and China. Africa needs China's support for continued infrastructure financing …

1
Jendayi Frazer on U.S.-China Geopolitical Competition in Africa 45:39

3M ago45:39

45:39

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week on what the U.S. needs to do to better compete with China in Africa and other developing regions. Campbell bluntly told senators Washington "has to do better" to match Chinese finance, trade, and military engagement around the world. But t…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Cobus Van Staden Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
The China in Africa Podcast

The China-Global South Project

1
The China Africa Project

Eric Olander & Cobus van Staden

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Update on the State of the BRI in the New "Small and Beautiful" Era 56:16

1
Chinese Companies Engage in Massive "Forest Looting" in the DR Congo 39:44

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Power Shift: China’s Role in Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Transformation 59:28

1
Stymied in the West, Chinese EV Brands Look to Expand in Africa 41:19

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] India Claims Major Breakthrough in Border Stand-off With China 50:22

1
Global Gateway in Africa: Europe's Answer to China's Belt and Road 1:00:03

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Paying a High Cost for Its "All-Weather" Relationship With Pakistan 51:00

1
Judd Devermont on the State of U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa 1:00:24

1
Beyond Railways and Ports: China's Evolving Lending Strategy in Africa 51:52

51
Negotiating Chinese Infrastructure Deals: Lessons From Two African Countries 39:16

1
Railroads and Rivalries in Southern Africa 1:04:48

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] China's Response to the Wars in the Middle East 48:13

1
[WEEK IN REVIEW] Illegal Chinese Miners in Ghana Have Been Warned 1:01:00

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] How Persian Gulf Countries Are Responding to the U.S.-China Rivalry 35:07

1
Can China Help Africa Become the Next Factory of the World? 46:25

1
[DOUBLE EPISODE] The China-Africa Summit Debrief 1:31:40

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Why the U.S. is Struggling to Compete in the Global Competition for Critical Resources 56:54

1
[BONUS EPISODE] Chinese, African Perspectives on the FOCAC Summit 59:00

1
David Monyae on the Politics of FOCAC 29:01

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] View From Israel: China's Growing Influence in the Middle East 33:26

1
Energy is Going to be the Hot Topic at Upcoming China-Africa Summit 44:58

1
African Priorities at the Upcoming China Summit 54:31

1
[GLOBAL SOUTH] Westlessness: A New Era Where the West Still Matters, Just Not as Much 51:30

1
China-Africa Summit Preview: What’s on the Agenda for FOCAC 9? 39:12

1
Jendayi Frazer on U.S.-China Geopolitical Competition in Africa 45:39

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