A few months ago, a New York Times magazine cover was emblazoned with the question “Is China the World’s New Colonial Power?” The notion that China is a twenty-first-century colonizer is not new: commentators have been batting it around for
In Beijing, today is the annual deadline every dog owner dreads – registration time. As this handy guide sets out, if owners don’t register their dogs by the end of May, the dogs risk being taken away as strays. Not
Living in China, it’s been impossible to miss the country’s first ever Belt and Road Forum (BRF). The forum concluded on Monday, with outputs including a detailed declaration and numerous — over 270 — bilateral deals in areas such as
One of the most cited statistics about China may well be the number of Chinese who have been lifted out of poverty over the last 35 years. At over 800 million, it is a huge number – and an extraordinary
“Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room” was one of the many memorable quotations from President Xi Jinping’s historic speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, just under a month ago. It was the first time
There is no doubt that relations between China and African countries are becoming ever more intertwined and important. In what has now become an annual tradition to visit Africa as a priority continent at the beginning of the year, Foreign
The beginning of the year – Western or Chinese – always means its resolution time. For the year of the rooster, I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to cut my social media addiction, which has really grown over
As part of my preparation to return to work early next year, I have recently started the search for someone to look after my son full-time during the day. Being in Beijing, I don’t have the same network of family
I’ve recently celebrated my first anniversary of working in China, and I can wholeheartedly say it has been fantastic so far. In particular I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by supportive and enthusiastic colleagues. To be very honest,
June is always a busy month for my family, as three of us have a birthday in the space of two weeks. Father’s day also takes place in June, and it’s also my husband and my wedding anniversary. There is
As a relative newcomer to China, I do my best to read as much as I can of other people’s perspectives about China. One magazine I often enjoy is “World of Chinese”, a bi-monthly publication, helpfully written in English as
Just a few weeks ago, my sister got married. The wedding was beautiful, her husband is an absolutely wonderful man from Uganda, and my two other sisters and I were bridesmaids. But there was one problem. I found myself comparing
Africa isn’t a country. It’s an obvious statement but a while back, even American Vice President Joe Bidden forgot it when he said: “There’s no reason the nation of Africa cannot and should not join the ranks of the world’s
I’m entering into my fourth week here in Beijing, and one of the experiments I tried last weekend was to order a takeaway. I was tired from a very hectic week of meetings – that was my excuse anyway! But
A few days ago I arrived in Beijing to begin a new job as deputy country director for UNDP China. In this job, I’ll be heading a team that advises the Chinese government and other Chinese counterparts such as businesses
