Hon. Shu Zhan, the former Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda and Eritrea, first worked in Africa as an academic researcher and political consultant before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China. He always offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective on Chinese investment in Africa and other development issues faced by the continent generally. In part, because of his own background in agriculture as a youth in China, he enjoyed working side by side with locals and Chinese specialists on the field in Eritrea and Rwanda. He reflected fondly on his onsite access to observe firsthand the progress of aid projects and their effectiveness in serving the local community. Mr. Shu found this experience to be valuable when he later served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the policymaking and diplomacy levels, consulting both senior Chinese and African government officials.
Hon. Shu Zhan is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China.