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,...

India is upgrading diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with several African states in the search for oil and gas to meet its energy needs, which are expected to double by...

Tokyo’s diplomats and trade officials are promising an upsurge of activity in Africa in 2008, aiming to boost trade and development. Trade Minister Akira Amari speaks unambiguously about...

When China pledged 20 million renminbi this year for education projects in South Africa to include the teaching of Mandarin in 50 local high schools, it was an indication...

China has a new competitor for oil resources in Nigeria, according to company leaks and media reports. Royal Dutch/Shell is understood to be looking to sell a 49.8% stake in...

Ever since the abduction of two Chinese oil workers by antigovernment rebels in Sudan three years ago, policy-makers in Beijing have wrestled with how best to manage strategic...

Beijing may try to stay out of African politics but the rivalries among Angola’s elite leave its diplomats little choice. The latest row over China’s US$6 billion credit line to the...

The China International Fund (CIF) appears to be the construction arm of Beiya International Development Ltd, the parent company of China Angola Oil Stock Holding Ltd, which trades Angolan oil. ...

Losing Chad has been a big setback for Taiwan’s plans in Africa. Chad had resumed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997. Merchandise trade had not been important for either...

As it loses the diplomatic and commercial competition with Beijing, the Taiwan government is casting around for new friends and a new strategy in Africa. Painfully aware of its unequal...

The boom in Indian-South African relations is bringing together politicians, companies, and even Bollywood film stars and African actors. Both have their iconic statesmen – Nelson Mandela and Mohandas Gandhi, who briefly...

Belgium and the United States are still reeling from Kinshasa’s mid-September announcement that China is to invest more than US$8 billion in Congo-Kinshasa.

Gabonese are outraged at the terms of a US$3 billion iron ore project at Bélinga and the likely damage to the country’s national parks. We hear that the...

President Omar Bongo Ondimba, a close ally of Beijing, appears to have literally clipped the wings of Taiwan's African diplomacy.

Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the Copperbelt was cancelled at the last minute amid reports that several hundred miners working for the Chinese-owned Non Ferrous Corporation had...