Two weeks in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou have left me breathless, with various thoughts racing around my mind seeking clarification. China is an extraordinarily complex country to try to begin to understand. “Everything you hear about China is true – as is the opposite.” A wise observation. Expect a number of posts on China in [...]

Even with the new Lisbon Treaty, a European Council President and a more powerful High Representative for foreign policy, there is little hope of forging a common foreign policy while Member States leaders fail to coordinate their positions, even on such relatively unimportant issues as meeting the Dalai Lama or attending the opening ceremony of [...]

I never thought that I would be applauding the victory of Silvio Berlusconi. But then, I did not anticipate that there would be any cohesive and working majority in both houses. If Italy is going to escape from its current economic sloth, it needs a strong government that can introduce the necessary reforms and make [...]

I do not recall a political issue in which the misperceptions were so diametrically opposed.  Even allowing for deliberate ‘misunderstandings’ inside China and in the West, The Chinese and Westerners see Tibet and the Dalai Lama totally differently.  This makes finding a solution that much more difficult. Every effort must be made to diffuse the current [...]

I am about to leave for two weeks in China and may not blog frequently. I will make up for it on my return on 27 April, beginning with Tibet.

The Congress, held in Beijing from 5 to 18 March, appointed the State Council (cabinet) and ministries, reorganised the government structure, and focussed on the key policy issues. The 10 March post reported on the first week and reported on Premier Wen Jiabao’s ‘state of the union message’. This post explains the context, the new [...]

I have for some time wanted to write on this subject, but have felt unable to do so, because without American support, there would have been no European Union. The International Herald Tribune’s leader of 12-13 January 2008, “Looking for an America we can recognize again”, made me change my mind. Strong criticism of US [...]

10 years after the Franco-British St Malo accord, President Sarkozy’s successful visit to London brings hope for a strategic consensus between France, Germany and the UK, supported by most Member States. Beyond diplomatic initiatives, this could encompass energy policy, climate change and also development aid. This is the conclusion of an interesting article by Thierry [...]