The China in Africa Podcast

China-Africa security cooperation is expanding beyond military ties into cross-border law enforcement, as Chinese-linked telecom fraud operations spread across Africa. Joint investigations, intelligence sharing and police partnerships are becoming increasingly important as governments confront scams targeting victims worldwide, including in China and the United States.
Meanwhile, Africa's new credit ratings agency aims to challenge assessments that critics say overstate the continent's investment risks and increase borrowing costs. Its influence will depend on whether investors and banks accept its methodology, including in China's capital markets. Both developments reflect a broader push to strengthen African agency and reshape international systems, even as China's engagement shifts toward more targeted cooperation rather than headline-grabbing loans.
Géraud Neema, Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden discuss China-Africa police cooperation, the credibility of Africa's new credit ratings agency, and what these shifts could mean for the next Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China-Africa Police Cooperation and Telecom Fraud
Chinese Law Enforcement's Expanding Role in Africa 
Africa's New Credit Ratings Agency Explained
Can African Credit Ratings Challenge Western Financial Power?
What to Expect From the Next FOCAC Summit
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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

The DRC's cobalt industry is also moving uranium through global supply chains, creating a problem that extends beyond critical-minerals security. Researchers estimate that 2,000–5,000 tons of uranium may have left the country as a byproduct of cobalt production, raising questions about nuclear-security risks, environmental exposure, and the traceability of mineral exports.
The challenge is persistent rather than catastrophic: uranium occurs naturally alongside DRC cobalt and can remain in cobalt hydroxide even when companies follow existing processing standards. Weak shipment-level monitoring and inconsistent reporting leave uncertainty over where the uranium goes and how it is handled after reaching China and other markets.
Ryan Manzuk, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Program on Science and Global Security, joins Cobus and Geraud to analyze uranium contamination in DRC cobalt exports, including nuclear-security implications, environmental and worker exposure, and measures to improve traceability and local processing.
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
Uranium contamination in DRC cobalt exports
China's role in cobalt supply chains
Nuclear security risks from uranium exports
Environmental and health risks for miners
Traceability, regulation, and local processing
Show Notes
Nature Communications: Uranium in cobalt-hydroxide exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Ryan A. Manzuk & Sébastien Philippe
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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

China's engagement across Africa is increasingly shaped by both high-level geopolitics and competition in everyday markets. Somalia's renewed ties with Beijing are being driven in part by the Somaliland question, particularly its growing relationship with Taiwan. At the same time, Chinese companies continue expanding their commercial footprint across the continent.
The U.S.-China technology contest is also playing out in Africa, but the scale of investment highlights a significant gap between American initiatives such as Africell and China's established ICT infrastructure footprint. Meanwhile, Chinese automakers are rapidly gaining ground in South Africa, while electric two-wheelers could reshape mobility and the gig economy across African cities.
Eric Olander, Geraud Neema and Cobus van Staden examine what these developments reveal about China's changing role in Africa, from the strategic importance of Somaliland and Taiwan to the realities of competing with Chinese technology and adapting to African consumers.

📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
China-Somalia ties and the Somaliland question
U.S.-China competition over African telecom infrastructure
Chinese electric vehicles and Africa's mobility future
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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 crackdown on foreigners operating small businesses has put Chinese traders at the center of a wider debate over competition, immigration, and economic opportunity. President William Ruto's targeting of foreign merchants has raised concerns about xenophobia while exposing deeper frustrations over how Chinese businesses operate in Kenya's informal economy.
China's role in Africa is also expanding beyond trade. Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt highlighted Beijing's push for a greater role in Middle East and African security, while Chinese drones, weapons, and military training are gaining ground across the continent. At the same time, China's engagement is being framed through competing narratives of influence and "empire."
This week, we have a Roundtable episode where we look at China's evolving role in Africa, including Kenya's crackdown, China-Egypt relations, and the growth of Chinese arms sales.


📌 Topics Covered in This Episode:
Kenya's crackdown on foreign small businesses
Chinese traders and concerns over unfair competition
Xi Jinping's Egypt visit and China's push for a greater security role
The Global Civilization Initiative and China's engagement with the Global South
Chinese drones and arms sales across Africa
African countries diversifying their military partnerships for greater strategic autonomy
Challenging narratives about Chinese influence, debt, and African agency
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander | @stadenesque |  @cgneema 
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

China's influence in Africa's media landscape increasingly operates through content-sharing agreements, journalist training, paid placements, and support for local broadcasters. These "below-the-line" strategies give Chinese narratives a pathway into African newsrooms that extends well beyond the reach of traditional state outlets such as CGTN and Xinhua.
But the push for greater Chinese influence raises a deeper question about decolonization. While Beijing presents its media engagement as an alternative to Western dominance, African journalists can be exposed to models of reporting that do not necessarily fit local political and social realities. At the same time, the shift toward social media makes the actual impact of these efforts increasingly difficult to measure.
Emeka Umejei, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the arguments from his book China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization, content-sharing agreements, journalist training, and the future of African media independence.

Show Notes

China in African Media: Between Influence Operations and Decolonization by Emeka Umejei
📌 Topics Covered in This Episode
China's evolving media influence across Africa
The rise of content-sharing agreements with African news outlets
Journalist training, media exchanges, and the spread of Chinese reporting models
The tension between China's "decolonization" narrative and African media independence
How Chinese economic engagement strengthens its media influence
The shift toward social media and the uncertain impact of foreign media campaigns on African audiences
Join the Discussion:
X: @ChinaGSProject | @eric_olander I @stadenesque I @emekaumejei
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject
YouTube: 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