U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen's recent statements on China being a "barrier" to resolving the debt issues in Zambia provoked a harsh response from the Chinese government.

This week, China's new Foreign Minister Qin Gang is visiting Africa to "deepen the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and boost friendly cooperation between China and Africa."

In late December, the Zimbabwe government adopted measures to encourage Chinese lithium mining companies to do more processing in Zimbabwe, rather than simply export raw lithium for processing elsewhere.

As a follow-up to the bilateral meeting between China and Tanzania and agreements to "expand the trade volume", China's Customs agency released the regulatory requirements for wild aquatic products from Tanzania, potentially opening the Chinese market to more seafood from the nation.

China's Customs recently published the regulatory requirements for fresh avocado from Tanzania, a follow-up on a previous meeting between the leaders of the two countries when they vowed to increase trade. Tanzanian avocado will face strong competition from other existing suppliers that already dominate the world and Chinese

On the sideline of the G20 Summit on November 15, Chinese president Xi Jinping met with a number of leaders, from Asia-Pacific and Europe to Africa and South America. When meeting with Asia-Pacific and European countries, Xi emphasized a resilient supply chain and non-discriminatory treatment toward Chinese companies. When talking