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Wang Yi Gets To Enjoy the Luxury of Staying on Message

by Eric Olander
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi greeting his Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama during a visit to Abuja on January 5, 2021. Image via Xinhua.

Wang Yi is on the road again after his week-long visit to Africa wrapped up on Saturday in The Seychelles. The Chinese foreign minister flew back to Beijing from the tiny island state in the Indian Ocean, only to embark the next day on yet another week-long regional tour, this one to Southeast Asia.

During his visit to five African countries last week, it was interesting to watch how disciplined both he and his hosts were in staying on message. It’s not a surprise, after all, given that the trip was engineered to bolster ties with governing elites in those countries and was scripted down to the minute to ensure there were no surprises or pesky unscripted questions.

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