One of Africa’s smallest nations, with a population of around 1.3 million, found itself on the wrong side of the Chinese government earlier this week in more ways than one.First, China implemented a previously announced policy, removing tariffs on all African countries except Eswatini on Friday (May 1). Then, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te began an official visit to the Southern African nation, which was described in the Chinese Communist Party’s media as an “indignified” act, linking it to how it came shortly after a recent earthquake in the region. Both incidents concern the nation’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan.The subject of technology, often caught in the crosshairs between governments of late, also saw major developments this week. The Chinese government forced the revocation of a $2 billion team between a Chinese-origin AI company and Meta. Separately, the Financial Times reported that Huawei was “set to capture the largest share of China’s AI chip market this year,” amid Chinese companies looking at domestic alternatives to US tech giant Nvidia.Finally, we look at Pakistan, which commissioned the first of eight Hangor-class submarines in China.Here is a closer look at these developments:1. Why China left out EswatiniChina’s exclusion of Eswatini is a result of the African nation’s continued ties with Taiwan, which China claims territorial rights over. Under the One-China principle, countries wishing to form diplomatic relations with China must acknowledge that there is “One China” and not accord diplomatic recognition to Taiwan.Only 12 nations have formal ties with Taiwan today, mostly small Latin American and Caribbean countries. Lai planned to visit Eswatini in April but had to delay his plans after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar cancelled flight permits for his charter plane, likely under pressure from China.The tariff removal, meanwhile, was framed by China as a “firm commitment” to fostering an “open world economy, advancing shared development across the Global South” amid a time of upheaval, in a thinly veiled reference to the United States.Story continues below this adNewsletterFollow our daily newsletter so you never miss anything important. On Wednesday, we answer readers' questions.SubscribeUPSHOT: Eswatini’s ties with Taiwan date back to 1968, when the Cold War era saw countries like the United States firmly support diplomatic recognition for Taiwan instead of China. Taiwan also supported these countries with financial assistance at the time. But over the decades, with China’s growing economic stature and international profile, countries have largely shifted their allegiance, often in hopes of receiving other material benefits from associating with Beijing.As the Taiwan issue continues gaining currency, with China increasingly engaging in military manoeuvres and fiery rhetoric around the island, it remains to be seen how sustainable the posture of countries like Eswatini will be. China’s response also points to the high priority it attaches to the issue.2. Meta-Manus unravelling, lessons for othersIn many ways, the Meta-Manus deal signed in December 2025 was unusual — it involved an American company purchasing a Chinese-origin one, with the said Chinese-origin company strongly attempting to break from its roots.While Chinese companies have relocated to Singapore in the past to circumvent US restrictions and state interference (what China calls “Singapore-washing”), this ultimately did not help Manus. China invoked its potential “industrial security and development interests” for the order. We detailed the saga and its significance here.Story continues below this adUPSHOT: The deal has become the latest stark example of geopolitics and heightened competition determining the course of tech advancements.Another notable example is Nvidia, which has lobbied for its AI chips to be sold in China, with CEO Jensen Huang even meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House last year.But before the US government could move on that, China soured on Nvidia. The Financial Times reported last August that Chinese officials were also “insulted” by comments from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was discussing the US selling only certain kinds of chips to China. He had said, “We don’t sell them (China) our best stuff, not our second-best stuff, not even our third-best,” in reference to Nvidia’s H20 chips.He added, “You want to sell the Chinese enough that their developers get addicted to the American technology stack, that’s the thinking.”Story continues below this adHuang, whose firm has considerable interests in selling to China, had argued that by restricting Nvidia sales in the country, the US was inadvertently aiding the domestic development of chips. Whether that would have happened regardless, though, is also worth debating. China has stressed the importance of technological innovations for years now, and companies like Huawei have witnessed a continued rise, despite restrictions in the US in the last decade or so.Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was the chief guest for the commissioning of the first of the eight Hangor-class submarines in China this week. He called the event a “historic milestone” for the country’s navy.The Hangor-class, an export variant of the Chinese Type 039A Yuan class, is a diesel-electric attack submarine, named after the decommissioned PNS Hangor, which sank INS Khukri during the 1971 war.UPSHOT: Pakistan’s Hangor class is the direct counterpart of India’s Kalavari class of submarines, based on the French Scorpene-class. We explained the key features and differences in an earlier explainer here.Story continues below this adDefence forms an important component of the China-Pakistan relationship, assuming even greater importance within the last year. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stated in a recent report that “Pakistan’s military spending grew by 11 per cent to $11.9 billion in 2025. The increase was largely due to new orders for aircraft and missiles placed with China in 2025 following the armed conflict with India in May, as well as payments for earlier procurement contracts nearing completion.”