China will host a summit between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council later this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. The summit with the six-country bloc (made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait) will further solidify the normalization of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, brokered by China this weekend.
The announcement follows December’s first summit between China and Arab states, where GCC leaders welcomed President Xi Jinping’s ...
Country: Eritrea
New Mining Project in Eritrea Proves Again China Willing to Invest Where Others Dare Not
A new half a billion-dollar mining project in Eritrea reaffirms China's reputation for investing in countries that others find too risky. China's ambassador to Asmara, Cai Ge, led a groundbreaking ceremony last week for new copper, zinc, and ore mine in ...
China’s New Special Envoy For the Horn of Africa Lays Out His Agenda
China's newly-appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (HoA), Xue Bing, is currently touring the region to get up to speed on the key issues. Over the weekend, he met with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and then traveled to Addis Ababa for talks ...
China’s New Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Meets Regional Ambassadors
Ethiopia's ambassador to China, Teshome Toga Chanaka, hosted a lunch of Horn of Africa ambassadors at Ethiopia House in Beijing. Also invited was Xue Bing, China's new Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, and Wu Peng, the PRC's top diplomat to Africa. ...
Taking Stock of Wang Yi’s Tour of East Africa & Indian Ocean States
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is back in Beijing after wrapping up the customary first overseas trip of the year that always begins in Africa. Wang spent almost a week visiting five nations in East Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean ...
Taking Stock of Wang Yi’s African Tour
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to East Africa and the Indian Ocean region is only halfway through, but it has already produced several interesting data points: In the first place, Wang made an oblique reference to China’s willingness to develop ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China Tries to Maintain Mideast Diplomatic Momentum With Summit Planned for Later This Year
Wang Yi’s Visit to Eritrea Was Symbolically Important But Produced Few Tangible Outcomes
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) wrapped up his brief visit to Eritrea on Wednesday by signing a broadly-worded joint statement with his counterpart Osman Saleh (right). The statement was largely boilerplate, with the usual references to "mutual support" and ...
One of China’s Top Africa Scholars Tries to Explain How Wang Yi Chooses What African Countries to Visit and Also Responds to Debt Trap Accusation
For 32 years, Chinese foreign ministers like Wang Yi have made it a priority to go to Africa for their first overseas trip of the year but little is known about what goes into selecting the countries for these annual visits. ...
Africa’s Muted Response to Wang Yi’s Tour
Despite the importance of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Kenya, Eritrea and the Comoros this week, African media coverage of the tour remains surprisingly scant. In the week after his visit was announced, very little has come from these countries in terms of agenda-setting, and ...
Wang Yi Begins Week-long Africa Tour in Eritrea But You Wouldn’t Know It From Chinese State Media
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Tuesday evening to kick off a three-nation, four-day Africa tour that also includes stops in Kenya and the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean. Wang was greeted at the ...
Infographic Details Three Decades of Chinese Foreign Ministers’ New Year Tours to Africa
Wang Yi's current visit to Africa is the continuation of a 32-year tradition where the first overseas trip of the year by a Chinese Foreign Minister is always to Africa. This custom didn't historically attract much attention, but now it's become ...