[Podcast] Initial Reflections on an Unprecedented Crisis in China-Africa Relations

The widespread evictions and mistreatment of African migrants in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has caused a serious rupture in China-Africa relations. Chinese ambassadors across Africa have been called into various foreign ministries to explain why so many of their nationals in Guangzhou have been visibly mistreated by authorities and rendered homeless by the evictions from their homes and hotels.
The Chinese government is beginning to mobilize a response that depicts the well-documented evictions and mistreatment as “rumors” according to an article published in the Global Times newspaper. Similarly, the government is blaming western media, namely CNN, AFP, and Reuters, for “alleging that Africans are being badly treated.”
The situation is rapidly escalating into an unprecedented crisis in China-Africa relations that risks causing serious damage to Beijing’s relations with governments across the continent.