It Was ASEAN’s Turn For China’s Fast-paced “Speed Dating” Diplomacy

Myanmar Foreign Minister Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin (left) and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met separately with Chinese FM Wang Yi in Tunxi. Image via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Right after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi returned from his annual trip to Africa in early January he decamped from Beijing to set up shop temporarily in the small eastern city of Tunxi, 400km outside of Shanghai. 

By relocating to a relatively remote town with a large enough airport to accommodate mid-sized jets, Wang created a COVID bubble that allows his guests to make quick trips without having to endure China’s arduous quarantine restrictions.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across the Global South.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China’s relations across the Global South.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Cobus van Staden

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2
Uncertainty Roils Minerals Markets
3 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
4 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths

You Might Like

Chinese Propaganda Promotes Beijing’s “Pragmatism” Over Washington’s “Idealism”

Global Times is one of China’s more nationalistic media outlets that often tests new propaganda and media messaging. This article was written Global Times writer Wang Cong in Kasane, Botswana. “The US continues ...

Florida Governor Calls China an “Adversary” Determined to Control Resources in Africa

Florida governor Rick Scott is by no means an important voice on foreign policy matters but he does offer some insight here on how a lot of senior US politicians now consider China ...

For the First Time in a Long Time, China Isn’t Looming in the Background of an Africa Summit… This Time It’s the U.S.

Over the past few years at various African summits organized by the Japanese, Europeans or Americans, China has emerged as a kind of benchmark that other foreign powers are now measured against in ...

China’s Mideast Position in Flux Amid Escalating U.S.-Iran Crisis

Editor’s Note: the geopolitical lines that once clearly separated Africa, MENA and the GCC countries from one another are now quite blurred. As such, we’re going to include more coverage of China-Gulf and ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP