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Lauren Johnston

Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs
Dr Lauren Johnston holds a PhD in Economics from Peking University. She has expertise in and is widely published on the economics and political economy of China-Africa relations, the Belt and Road Initiative and how population ageing impacts China’s economy. Dr Johnston is concurrently an Associate Professor at the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney. She previously worked at the University of Melbourne, Beijing Foreign Studies University, the World Bank, and as an ODI Fellow in the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning of Sierra Leone.

Global Geopolitics Series

China-Africa relations in 2023: key moments and events to remember

Dec 13, 2023 08:15 am UTC| Politics

In a year when headlines have been dominated by conflict in Europe and the Middle East, and geo-economic tensions between China and the West, China-Africa relations were, in comparison, a steady and stable norm. Having...

China Crisis Series

China’s Belt and Road Initiative turns 10: Xi announces 8 new priorities, continues push for global influence

Oct 27, 2023 15:03 pm UTC| Politics

Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, which now includes 44 African countries, got under way 10 years ago. President Xi Jinping launched it in 2013 with a first speech in Kazakhstan and a second one in Indonesia. The initiative...

China Crisis Series

China’s Africa strategy is shifting from extraction to investment

Aug 25, 2023 08:01 am UTC| Economy

China experienced a massive economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s which increased its demand for resource imports, like oil, from Africa. This led to a model of development finance in which China funded infrastructure in...

China’s population has peaked and is now falling – opportunities and risks for Africa

May 11, 2023 15:55 pm UTC| Economy

China will no longer be the worlds most populous nation. Indias population will overtake it this year at an estimated population of 1.42 billion. Its an epochal transition which speaks to other underlying demographic...

Economy

Interest rates: the ugly dilemma facing Europe’s central banks – and why it’s a mistake to cut too soon

Central banks in Europe are discovering an old dilemma: when they lower interest rates because inflation is slowing down, its likely to weaken their currencies. This in turn may delay the fall in inflation towards their...

Europe is still in short-term crisis mode over Ukraine and lacks a vision for its post-war identity

Some believe that the war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed Europe, giving birth to a different kind of European order. That is, it appears to be driving structural shifts in the way Europe is run and organised that...

Mortgage prisoners: regulatory changes and low credit scores have left thousands trapped in a cycle of high payments

There are 8.5 million households in the UK who own a home with a residential mortgage, often with fixed interest rates from two to five years. Usually, when that mortgage deal ends, the borrower will move to another deal...

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Politics

Gabon: post-coup dialogue has mapped out path to democracy – now military leaders must act

At the end of April 2024, a long and peaceful process of national dialogue in Gabon between the military junta, presided over by coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema, and civil society, represented by 580 civilians,...

How German media attention idealises female Ukrainian refugees

According to the latest available data, around 3.7 million Ukrainians are internally displaced, while nearly 6.5 million have registered as refugees globally. With 1.13 million, Germany has taken in the largest...

Over 26 million South Africans get a social grant. Fear of losing the payment used to be a reason to vote for the ANC, but no longer – study

Social grants to reduce poverty feature prominently in the campaign promises of political parties in South Africas 2024 national and provincial general elections, set for 29 May. The countrys social grants system is one...

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Science

Is dark matter’s main rival theory dead? There’s bad news from the Cassini spacecraft and other recent tests

One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newtons law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those...

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

Technology

UAE, US Strengthen AI Partnership; Alibaba, Baidu Slash Chatbot Model Costs

The UAE and the US are set to deepen their AI investments, while Alibaba and Baidu announce substantial reductions in chatbot model costs. US and UAE to Boost AI Investments Emirates state minister for AI Omar Sultan...

Ether ETFs May Boost ETH to $10K, but Approval Delayed Until 2025

While the ETF licensing procedure could take until 2025, it could be Ethers most important price catalyst. Spot Ether ETFs Could Drive ETH Price to $10,000 by End of 2024, Says Nexos Stoychev Legalizing spot Ether...

Solana Could Surge After Ethereum ETF Approval: Matrixport Co-founder Predicts

The broader cryptocurrency market has risen today due to speculation over the likely approval of the Spot Ethereum ETF by the US SEC. However, amid the euphoria, Matrixport co-founder Daniel Yans recent comments have...

Tesla's ‘Cybercab’ Robotaxi Interior Leaked in New Promotional Video

Tesla may have unintentionally leaked the interior of its highly anticipated Cybercab Robotaxi in a recent promotional video, sparking excitement and speculation. Teslas Robotaxi Vision Unveiled Over the past few...

Tron Founder Justin Sun's $2.5 Billion Ethereum Stash Sparks Investor Interest

Tron founder Justin Suns $2.5 billion Ethereum investment is stirring significant market interest, highlighting his confidence in the cryptocurrencys future. Justin Suns Ethereum Holdings Explained Tron founder...