Liu Guijin is in an unenviable position. As China’s Envoy to Africa, he must balance its often contradictory priorities: on one hand, China claims the internal affairs of its African...

The work of Grameen Bank, which shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Yunus, its founder, began in 1974 when Yunus handed US$27 from his own pocket to...

Japan’s Foreign Minister is preparing for a busy, Africa-focused 2008: the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development on 28-30 May, and the Group of Eight Summit in Hokkaido on 7-9...

In a defining moment, the Communist Party of China (CPC) began in 2002 to admit entrepreneurs – unabashed capitalists – to its ranks. Jiang Jianqing, Governor of ICBC,...

Kamalesh Sharma, the High Commisioner of India to Britain, is favourite to be the next Secretary General of the Commonwealth when New Zealand’s Don McKinnon finishes his second four-year term in...

When South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon became UN Secretary General in January, he pledged to reform UN management – and to make climate change and Sudan’s Darfur his top priorities....

Li Ruogu has been Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) since June 2005. With one Masters in Law from Beijing University and another in Public Administration...

The career of China’s new Ambassador to South Africa, Zhong Jianhua, hints at the importance Beijing places on its biggest trade partner in Africa. A graduate of the Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages,...

Table

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited South Africa on 7 January 2008 to deepen a relationship which has been elevated to a ‘strategic dialogue’. The visit was to...