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Article Archive for February 2010

Pictures: China’s Infrastructure Building Machine Comes Home
February 28, 2010 | 2 Comments
Pictures:  China’s Infrastructure Building Machine Comes Home

The great Chinese infrastructure parade rolled right under my window and I jumped on the extremely rare opportunity to take some pictures of the operation.  This is quite exceptional in the DR Congo as it …

Message to the West: Just Open Your Eyes
February 28, 2010 | No Comment
Message to the West: Just Open Your Eyes

Living here in Kinshasa, it is immediately apparent that China’s engagement is re-shaping both the Democratic Republic of the Congo but the continent as a whole.    To anyone on the ground here, it should …

Respect for China’s Energy Policies
February 25, 2010 | No Comment
Respect for China’s Energy Policies

Yes, on the one hand we are very critical of the pollution that has run rampant in China, and we also are fearful of losing leadership in green/clean energy, but in-between those headlines is respect from opinion leaders in the US that China is proactively addressing its energy issues through clear policies and ample investment.

China Pushes North Korea Talks – With What Aim?
February 23, 2010 | No Comment
China Pushes North Korea Talks – With What Aim?

While the actions are real, and the role played by China important, American opinion will be more affected by sustained dialogue and actual results more than the delayed revelation that China said something to a relative of the dear leader.

The Chinese in Africa: Let the Backlash Begin
February 23, 2010 | One Comment
The Chinese in Africa: Let the Backlash Begin

I may be wrong on this but I don’t think the United States or Europe ever had to contend with restrictions on the ownership of beauty parlors in Africa.  BusinessWeek offers an interesting insight this …

Chinese, it’s the new black in Kinshasa
February 21, 2010 | One Comment
Chinese, it’s the new black in Kinshasa

The arrival of an estimated one million Chinese across Africa is having an impact far beyond what anyone could have expected.  With many of those Chinese immigrants assigned to the mines and construction projects that …

Welcome to the Congo, now pay up!
February 17, 2010 | No Comment
Welcome to the Congo, now pay up!

(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) — on this my first night in the capital, I thought it would be fitting to talk about what it actually takes to get here.  For the average visitor, …

(中文) 美国人有多不了解中国在非洲的崛起
February 15, 2010 | No Comment
(中文) 美国人有多不了解中国在非洲的崛起

大多数中国人难以完全理解美国人是多么漠视发生在自己国界之外的事件。中国观察员在这方面的困惑一点都不难理解,因为从他们观察角度来看,美国是一个远比中国更为开放和全球化的国家。所以美国人怎能对重大的地理政治变化视而不见?是的,他们确实是这样的,最明显的例子就是,目前在非洲大陆,根据几个可靠的评估,美国这个最大的投资者正处在被中国替代的边缘。 “好吧,那又怎样?”那些怀疑论者会说。投资模式随着时间发生改变,有时候美国是第一,有时候不是,这是公平的。不过,我请你们考虑的一项非常重要的发展在非洲造成的后果:石油。

Demonising China: pundits get its role in Africa wrong
February 15, 2010 | No Comment
Demonising China: pundits get its role in Africa wrong

International media have reported up a storm on the recent surge in China-Africa links. They invoke a theme familiar from the past two centuries of colonialism and Cold War: Africa is beset by poverty and …

What Americans Don’t Understand About China’s Rise in Africa
February 14, 2010 | No Comment
What Americans Don’t Understand About China’s Rise in Africa

Most Chinese people do not fully understand the extent to which Americans disregard events beyond their own borders.  It’s completely understandable that Chinese observers get confused on this front because from their vantage point the …