7 Days in Diplomacy; this Week in Chinese History

This day, 7 February, in 1957, the People's Republic of China established formal diplomatic relations with Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), some 5 years in to the Rubber-Rice Pact between the two countries which saw them trade natural rubber for...

This day, 6 February, in 2003, Shi Jiuyong, a well-known Chinese international law expert, was elected President of the International Court of Justice for a 3-year term. He was the first Chinese judge to serve as such since the...

This day, 5 February, in 1957, the China Central Experimental Opera Theatre (today’s China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre) performed the Western classical opera, “La Traviata”, in Beijing. Conducted by Li Guoquan, then chief conductor of the Theatre,...

This day, 4 February, in 2022, the 24th Winter Olympic Games were grandly opened in Beijing. President Xi Jinping was in attendance to announce the opening, looked on by approximately 170 official representatives from nearly 70 countries and international...

This day, 3 February, 1964, Premier Zhou Enlai visited Somalia. There, at a welcome meeting in Mogadishu, Zhou delivered a speech in which he said, “This is my first time coming to Somalia, but as far as I personally...

This day, 2 February, in 1999, Vice President of China Hu Jintao paid an official visit to the Republic of South Africa, during which South African President Nelson Mandela said that the South African people were inspired and enlightened...

This day, 1 February, in 1662, Dutch Governor Frederick Coyett surrendered Formosa to Zheng Chenggong, better known internationally as Koxinga, after he besieged Zeelandia 8 months earlier. Zheng had led tens of thousands of soldiers from Xiamen via Penghu...