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Researcher at the Department of Asian and North African Studies of Venice “Ca' Foscari” University, Carlo Frappi is Associate Research Fellow for the Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia Centre at ISPI. Frappi, who holds a Ph.D. in European History, is also Adjunct Professor in Regional Studies at Catholic University of Milan and, since 2013, is a Member of the Board of Directors at the "Association for the Italian Study of Central Asia and the Caucasus" (ASIAC). 

There has been intensified geopolitical jostling in the Asian sphere towards the African continent in recent years, driven by, on one hand, Asian regional dynamics, and on the other, the opportunities that changes in Africa’s political economy have presented to external players. The promising narrative of ‘Africa’s rise’ has seen a growing number of Asian states vying to hold sway in Africa’s expanding markets and infrastructure development agenda. The struggle  for influence is also manifesting  strongly in the diplomatic arena.

As global trade continues to face waves of uncertainty amidst the pandemic and ongoing geopolitical tensions, not least the unresolved trade war between the United States and China, the future of EU-Asia relations is going to be heavily impacted by the most recent development in the Asia-Pacific. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed last November is a symbol of a pan-Asian trade network, inspired by the belief that greater market openness will lead to greater economic prosperity.

The impact of Covid-19 on Africa and the developing world has been foremost an economic crisis, followed by a health crisis that will have profound implications for the China-Africa economic relationship in the years to come. The pandemic represents a critical juncture for China’s role in development finance in Africa and for commercial relations, but we are also likely to see continuity and growth in China-Africa diplomatic engagement and in other areas of cooperation.