And, when it comes on the heels of the G7 summit which Xi Jinping dismissed as international politics of the past, then it is more than a matter of curiosity. And when what’s on offer is reportedly a deal between China and Europe’s two most powerful economies to collaborate on African development then it’s time to sit up and listen.
The G7 summit held in mid-June, which brought Japan and the traditional Western powers to the UK, was billed as the restoration of the American role as the fulcrum of global power and a renewal of the unity of purpose between the seven industrial states.