Trump Is Making a Power Play in Latin America. China Is Already There.
January 12th, 2026
Courtesy of the New York Times, a look at how China built a dominant strategic position in the region as the leading lender and trading partner, and it is watching President Trump’s next moves closely. For China, President Trump’s power grab in Venezuela is a frontal attack on a longstanding source of oil, cultivated through […]
Read more »China Focuses on Africa’s Strategic Trade Routes
January 7th, 2026
Via Reuters, a report on China’s renewed Africa focus on strategic trade routes: China’s FM to visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho Trip extends 36-year-old tradition of making first trip to Africa African states looking for investment over loans – analyst China’s top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Wednesday, focusing […]
Read more »How China and the Gulf States are Shaping Central Asia’s Energy Transition
December 31st, 2025
Via East Asia Forum, an article on how China and the Gulf states are shaping Central Asia’s energy transition: China and the Gulf states are expanding renewable energy investment in Central Asia. Through complementary competition, they vie for influence while occupying distinct and often mutually supportive roles in clean energy projects, particularly in Kazakhstan and […]
Read more »How Algeria Can Help China Plug Iron Ore Gaps and Gain Pricing Power
December 29th, 2025
Via the South China Morning Post, a report on how Algeria’s Gara Djebilet deposit in the Sahara Desert – discovered decades ago – is only now coming into production: In the heart of Algeria’s Sahara Desert, Chinese state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed laying track on the PK330 Bridge, a final and […]
Read more »China, Quad and the Rare Earths Mineral Competition in Myanmar
December 10th, 2025
Via Asia Times, a look at how ethnic rebel groups’ advances against the junta have disrupted Chinese resource-extraction dominance: As the US-China rivalry spirals, it is spilling over into new domains, particularly those involving rare earth minerals, regional supply chains, and emerging technologies. Countries with fragile political systems but high geoeconomic value are increasingly turning […]
Read more »How China Built a Network of Ports Encircling the Globe
December 1st, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a look at how – with shipping outposts on six continents – Beijing has cemented its trade dominance. That some could be used by its navy has other nations worried. Illustration: Christian Capestany China has invested tens of billions of dollars in building or investing in a global network of commercial ports on […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.