Africa

In 2021, China purchased nearly 70% of the world’s iron ore exports, spending about $180 billion.
Caixin

China close to setting up iron ore trading giant

Company aims to consolidate domestic industry, coordinate mining investment

20 July 2022
In Kenya, Mitsubishi Motors will produce its mainline pickup truck L200, sold as the Triton in markets such as Southeast Asia.
Automobiles

Mitsubishi to produce autos in Africa again after 10-year hiatus

Carmaker eyes removal of tariffs under African Continental Free Trade Area

17 July 2022
The first vessel berths as Lekki Port takes delivery of cranes and equipment on July 2: The arrival of the megaship from Shanghai was historic. (Handout photo from Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise)
Opinion

A Chinese port in Nigeria will change the world economy

New facility unites the economic and demographic giants of Asia and Africa

15 July 2022
Xi Jinping hosts the 14th BRICS summit via video link in Beijing on June 23: Countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Argentina have expressed interest in joining the club of five.
Opinion

Ukraine war divides Western alliance from the Global South

BRICS nations have long aspired to a new world order

8 July 2022
Xi Jinping during the welcome banquet of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019: China has few good options to climb out of the hole it has dug for itself.
Opinion

China can turn debt trap of its own making into historic opportunity

Beijing should cut its losses and focus on salvaging its reputation

24 June 2022
A CCTV news broadcast of Chinese President Xi Jinping shows him speaking during a BRICS event on June 23.
International relations

Xi rallies BRICS against sanctions 'abuse,' Cold War mentality

Putin accuses countries of using 'financial mechanisms' to shift their mistakes on the world

24 June 2022
National flags of the BRICS nations: Member countries in the group are becoming less and less like-minded.
Opinion

BRICS shows its usefulness, despite clear limitations

Emerging economy bloc serves its members in different ways

23 June 2022
Tourists and locals in Bangkok celebrate Songkran by spraying each other with water guns and partying on Khaosan Road on April 13. Much of Southeast Asia is disconnected from the far-off war in Ukraine. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Not everyone sees Ukraine as the main issue

Emerging countries accuse the West of hypocrisy

15 June 2022
Leaders and representatives pose for a group photo during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Nairobi in August 2016.
Opinion

Stronger ties with Africa will help sustain Japan's economy

Everyday ties that bind international cooperation matter

5 June 2022
An electron microscopic image shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles as well as crescents and spherical particles of immature virions, obtained from a clinical human skin sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. 
Society

WHO calls emergency meeting as monkeypox cases cross 100 in Europe

Cause still unclear for rare outbreak of viral disease outside Africa

21 May 2022
Floods and other natural disasters caused by climate change have led to the mass displacement of people in many parts of the world.
Datawatch

Climate refugees: The world's silent crisis

Number of people displaced by natural disasters could top 200m by 2050

2 May 2022
President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo shakes hands with Xi Jinping in Beijing in September 2018: China is moving directly into America's own backyard.
Opinion

China's Atlantic pearl compounds U.S. fears after Solomons setback

A naval base in Equatorial Guinea would be a calamity for Washington

30 April 2022
Morocco has been keen to attract direct investments from Western auto parts makers.
Supply Chain

Japan auto parts makers diversify supply chain to North Africa

Yazaki and others focus on Morocco away from Eastern Europe amid Ukraine crisis

28 April 2022
Libya's National Oil Corp. has declared force majeure, saying it has become impossible to meet obligations.
Commodities

Oil rises 2% as Libya outages add to Russia supply fears

National Oil Corp. says 'a painful wave of closures' has begun hitting its facilities

19 April 2022
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni speaks with Nikkei in Kampala on March 16. (Photo by Presidential Press Unit/Tony Rujuta)
Interview

Uganda leader says China-style diplomacy 'better than' the West's

Museveni sees 'double standard' in U.S. stances on Ukraine, Soviet missiles in Cuba

17 March 2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan passes the ball to Senegalese President Macky Sall at the new Olympic Stadium in Dakar, Senegal. (Photo courtesy of the Turkish Presidency)
International relations

Turkey in Africa pitches non-Chinese, non-Western model

New Senegalese stadium meant not as a gift but a showcase of Turkish prowess

26 February 2022
Actors perform a play that teaches the history of the Chinese Communist Party at a theme park in Shaanxi Province operated by the Dalian Wanda Group. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)
The age of 'Great China'

Dealing with the dilemma of the Chinese market

Move close and get burned at home, move away and lose traction with 1.4bn people

24 February 2022
Taliban forces ride in a car in Kabul in November 2021: the extremist government will struggle to stop the local Islamic State affiliate from drawing in militants to settle in ungoverned expanses of the country.
Opinion

Expect the world's ungoverned places to export instability

Outside actors prove increasingly reluctant to intervene

22 February 2022
Europe's 6 billion-euro ($6.8 billion) satellite communications plan will cover Africa.
Belt and Road

EU spurs African telecom development to win back clout from China

Brussels seeks to mix economic aid with democracy and free speech

21 February 2022
A smelter at an Anglo American Platinum plant in Zimbabwe. Platinum makes up a shrinking share of profits for South African miners.
Commodities

While platinum loses luster, byproduct rhodium shines bright

Major miners Anglo American and Impala shares gain as investors shift focus

1 February 2022
 If the omicron wave in Japan is similar to that in other areas like New York, shown above, cases are not expected to decline until early February. (Source photo by UPI/Kyodo)
Datawatch

Japan COVID surge unlikely to ease until early February

Global data shows omicron waves take on average 27 days to peak

26 January 2022
A projector image shows immunofluorescence staining of cells infected with the omicron coronavirus strain in Hong Kong.
Coronavirus

Omicron: 5 things to know as studies lift hopes for milder disease

After a month of rapid global spread, experts warn against complacency

30 December 2021
The rail-welding process in Tanzania. The standard-gauge railway has the potential to connect with a similar Chinese-built railway in neighboring Kenya. (Photo courtesy of Yapi Merkezi)
Transportation

Turkish builder seals $1.9bn deal to extend Tanzania railway

Indian Ocean country eyes links to African neighbors

29 December 2021
Chinese naval troops see off a replenishment ship bound for the waters off Somalia.
Indo-Pacific

China has multiple military basing options in Africa, analysts say

But Beijing expected to choose cautiously to avoid political risks

22 December 2021
Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area, left, and Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus signed a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation toward accelerating trade and investment on the sidelines of the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul.
Indo-Pacific

Leader of African trade bloc issues call for Asian investors

Mene moves to boost Turkish investment in Africa during Istanbul summit

20 December 2021