The Hungry Hegemon: China Is Running Short of Donkey for Dinner
March 2nd, 2026
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a report on how the shortage of a popular regional specialty is shaking global meat markets: A local news report revealing that high prices for donkey meat were forcing some restaurants in Henan province to switch to horse meat in their soup went viral on Chinese social media a few weeks ago. Reportedly, […]
Read more »China Spent Big on an African Media Empire, But No One’s Watching
March 2nd, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at China’s efforts to build a media footprint in Africa: China has spent nearly two decades building a media empire in Africa, but few people watch its broadcasters, newswires, and print publications. Africans prefer to watch the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN, and China’s media brands have barely figured in public […]
Read more »North Korea Eyes Slice of Russian Market Long Dominated by China
March 2nd, 2026
Via Daily NK, a report on China’s interest in Russian markets: North Korea’s ruling party instructed the cabinet’s Ministry of External Economic Relations in early February to pursue a new strategy aimed at securing a foothold in industrial sectors of the Russian market currently dominated by Chinese companies, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK recently. The instructions came from the Economic Department of the Workers’ Party […]
Read more »North Korea’s Elite Ponghak Beer Appears In Chinese Market In Search of Foreign Currency
January 19th, 2026
Via the Daily NK, a report that North Korea’s elite Ponghak Beer is entering the Chinese market seeking foreign currency: North Korea’s Ponghak Beer, the beer of choice among North Korea’s elite, has appeared in the Chinese market. Alongside Taedonggang Beer, which was already widely known, and Tumangang Beer, an emerging contender actively promoted by […]
Read more »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 »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.