Category: Diplomacy

  There is a custom in Chinese diplomacy that the Foreign Minister's first overseas trip of the year always begins in Africa. This year was no exception as Wang Yi led a high-profile tour of five African states including Kenya, Sudan, the DR Congo, ...

  South Africa is emerging as one of China's most important international partners as the relationship deepens across all levels. Economically, South Africa is the source of more Chinese investment than any other country on the continent. However, this relationship extends far beyond just ...

2014 marked another landmark year in Sino-African relations as bilateral trade between the two regions broke new records while political/diplomatic/military ties all strengthened across the board. Yet despite the tangible progress made this year, this burgeoning relationship also began to encounter some of its ...

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (aka the 'BRICS') are moving forward with an ambitious plan to shake up the clubby world of development finance. The new BRICS bank announced over the summer 2014 is expected to have a profound impact on the ...

It's widely accepted that China is having a profound impact on China but rarely are African countries credited with changing China. The rare exception is South Sudan. China's complex economic and political interests in the country are prompting Beijing to re-think ...

  Few figures defined China's early engagement more than Zambia's late president Michael Sata. As as opposition leader, the man known as the "King Cobra" was among Beijing's most vocal critics in Zambia but later, once in power, became an avid supporter of China's ...

Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete returned from Beijing this week loaded with $17 billion in new loans, investment deals and infrastructure projects. The Tanzanian leader spent 6 days in Beijing where he met with senior Chinese political and business leaders. Kikwete's lucrative trip highlights the ...

South African-native and Jeremy Goldkorn is an outspoken commentator, blogger and podcaster. Jeremy is the founder of the media research blog danwei.com and the co-host of the popular Sinica podcast with Kaiser Kuo. He is among the most insightful, provocative commentators on contemporary China ...

Pretoria's apparent refusal to grant Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama a visa to attend a summit of Nobel peace laureates has sparked outrage in South Africa. Critics allege the government is bowing to China, undermining South African sovereignty. China's long-held policy toward The ...

In June, China's ambassador to Juba publicly declared that Beijing would not sell weapons to any side of the ongoing civil conflict in South Sudan. So it was a bit of a surprise when it was discovered that $38 million of weapons had been ...