This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mozambique. To commemorate this milestone, ChinAfrica spoke with Maria Gustava, Mozambique’s ambassador to China, about the state of bilateral relations, China-Africa cooperation, and key developments shaping the global landscape. The following is an edited excerpt from the interview.  ChinAfrica: Over the past five decades, what, in your view, are the key milestones in the development of China-Mozambique bilateral relations?  Maria Gustava: Mozambique and China share a special and long-standing relationship of friendship,…

Rhino poaching has reached alarming levels in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP), with 35 rhinos lost to poaching in the first few months of 2025. This surge follows a disturbing trend that began around Christmas and continued into January and February, according to authorities. The rising number of poaching incidents has left conservationists and park officials scrambling for more effective solutions. Bruce Lesley, the Regional Ranger and Acting Mission Area Manager for KNP’s Special Operations, confirmed the grim numbers.…

African leaders will gather again in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, for the 2025 African Union (AU) Summit on 17-18 February. This time it’s different, though. The meeting is taking place amid a different geopolitical context, and challenging socio-economic and security conditions on the continent.  Africa remains the poorest continent globally, with extreme poverty rates exceeding 30 percent in 23 of the world’s 28 poorest countries. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a US private non-profit research organisation,…

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo named Carla Louveira as finance minister and Estevão Pale to lead the ministry of mineral resources and energy on Friday. Louveira previously served as deputy minister of economy and finance from 2020 and held a director position at the Bank of Mozambique. The economy and finance ministries have now been separated, according to the president. Pale, who previously served as chairman of Mozambique’s national oil company ENH in 2020 and national director of mines, is expected…

Mozambique’s long-ruling Frelimo party candidate, Daniel Chapo, has been sworn in as president following months of deadly protests in the southern African country over his October 9, 2024 election victory. Chapo took his oath of office on Wednesday (January 15) in the capital, Maputo, becoming the fifth president of Mozambique since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Guinea-Bissau’s Umaro Sissoco Embalo were among the African leaders who attended the ceremony at Independence Square.…

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has mandated a panel of elders to engage with the Mozambican government and opposition leaders to solve the country’s political and security challenges. The body also directed its Inter-State Defence and Security Committee to propose measures to protect regional trade routes, humanitarian corridors, and energy supplies while working toward solutions to Mozambique’s post-election crisis. SADC held a virtual Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organ Troika on January 5, 2025,…

Protesters occupied National Road 4 near the Ressano Garcia border, blocking the largest land crossing between Mozambique and South Africa, in the first of three days of protests called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. The border, approximately 90 kilometres from Maputo, fully reopened on Saturday after clashes instigated by protesters restricted crossing for about a week, which led to an increased police presence around the border. Access, however, was once again blocked this morning as people resumed their protest. Presidential…

Mozambique’s presidential runner-up, Venancio Mondlane, has announced a new wave of demonstrations set to take place from 13 to 15 November 2024, across various regions of the country. Speaking in a live social media appearance on Monday, Mondlane explained that these protests, marking the fourth phase of his ongoing campaign, would unfold in several stages, beginning on Wednesday. “The demonstrations will be concentrated in provincial capitals,” Mondlane said, emphasising that the protests will involve citizens travelling to these capitals over…

Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique, has said that Africa has gained much from China’s economic development, particularly due to its reform and opening up policy. China inspires African nations in their quest for national renewal and creates new development prospects through mutually beneficial cooperation. Since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000 and the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, exchanges between the two sides have intensified. Platforms such as the China-Africa Economic…

South Africa’s Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu and his Zimbabwean counterpart Anxious Jongwe Masuka have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the transfer of treated water across the common border. The implementation of the bilateral agreement provides for the delivery of about 15 million cubic metres of water per annum, equivalent to 41 million cubic metres per day, from the Beitbridge Water Treatment Plant in the Republic of Zimbabwe to Musina in South Africa. Musina Municipality has…