Meet the Chinese VP Who is Fast Becoming a Major Player in Beijing’s Diplomacy

The role of a Chinese vice president, like their U.S. counterpart, has largely been ceremonial, particularly in the diplomatic sphere where the Director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and the Foreign Minister (now a combined role) have traditionally been the most prominent envoys. ...

What is Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative? New Government Document Gives Clues

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the Global Security Initiative in 2022, but since then, the initiative has raised more questions than answers. Now, a new concept paper has been put out by the Chinese government, which adds detail on both the GSI's broad principles and some concrete ...

Q&A: Why is Benin on Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s African Tour Itinerary?

The newly appointed head of Chinese diplomacy, Qin Gang, has begun his first African tour which will take him to five countries. A visit that is part of the long tradition of Chinese diplomacy to reserve the first overseas tour to the African continent. ...

China’s Wolf Warrior Defanged

China’s most prominent Wolf Warrior diplomat, Zhao Lijian, has been moved from his previous position as Foreign Ministry spokesperson to a new post as Deputy Director of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs. While the shift is technically a lateral move, 

Why Developing Countries Should Be Worried About Xi’s Congress Speech

Watching Xi Jinping's big speech at the 20th Party Congress, I kept wondering if anyone at the foreign ministries in Kenya, Chile, or Morocco was also watching the live feed. My guess is probably not very many. I get it, listening ...

3…2…1: Party Congress

By Lukas Fiala ‘China will not close its door to the world; we will only become more and more open.’ With the benefits of hindsight, Xi Jinping’s remarks at the 19th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CCP) on October 18th, 2017 seem ...

Locating the Global South in China’s Party Congress

By Lukas Fiala and Hugo Jones We’re fairly accustomed to observing how the issue of China feeds into elections across global south countries. China is a political football, often framed as a problem that needs to be dealt with and low-hanging ...

China-Global South and the Long Shadow of Empire

Writing is slow on my side today because as someone living in a former British colony, I can't tear myself away from Twitter reactions to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Even as British Twitter is dominated by stiff-upper-lip memorials, Irish, ...

China’s Newest Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Makes Her Debut

China's Foreign Ministry's spokespeople have the tricky job of being the human faces of a frequently opaque system. So China nerds were a-Twitter this week following the debut of Mao Ning, the Ministry's newest representative.   Mao reportedly spent 27 years in the foreign service ...

China Appoints Veteran Diplomat to Senior Africa Role

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian announced on Wednesday that veteran Chinese diplomat Liu Yuxi will replace Beijing's outgoing Special Representative on African Affairs, Xu Jinghu. Liu assumes the role with more than 30 years of ...

Date for CCP’s 20th Party Congress Set, What Developing Countries Should Expect in the Meantime

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced an earlier-than-expected date for its highly anticipated 20th Party Congress when President Xi Jinping will be appointed to an unprecedented third term in office.  The Party's Central Committee said the once-every-five-year gathering ...

China Hits Back at TICAD 8

Japanese officials may have tried to downplay their rivalry with China in Africa, but the response from Beijing put the inflamed relationship between the countries front and center. China’s state-owned Global Times sharply criticized the commitments announced at the TICAD 8 meeting in ...
Page 2 of 81238