One of the biggest challenges that confronts any media professional is getting honest feedback on the content s/he produces. TV journalists at the biggest networks in the world share the same complaint as the lone blogger — constructive criticism of one’s work is extremely hard to come by. So when we received a pair of thoughtful, well-written feedback emails from a reader in Scandinavia and another in the United States, it was immensely appreciated. Although the critiques (below) do sting a bit, their suggestions are valued and, in some cases, have already been incorporated into how we produce content on China Talking Points. We thought it would be great to share their comments as a way to invite other readers to contribute feedback as well. The comments below have been reprinted with the authors’ permission however both individuals did requested anonymity.

CHINA TALKING POINTS: I want to start by asking you about a blog post you wrote on April 19th of last month about what the West can learn from China’s activities in Africa and in …

China is walking down the same path towards empire in Africa as the once former European powers did a century ago writes former New York Times Shanghai and Africa correspondent Howard French in a new …

It’s not often that senior Chinese officials make themselves available for interviews with the international media, especially in English.  So when I first heard that the BBC World Service’s “Business Today” radio program was to …

Living here in Kinshasa, it is immediately apparent that China’s engagement is re-shaping both the Democratic Republic of the Congo but the continent as a whole.    To anyone on the ground here, it should …

(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) — on this my first night in the capital, I thought it would be fitting to talk about what it actually takes to get here.  For the average visitor, …

International media have reported up a storm on the recent surge in China-Africa links. They invoke a theme familiar from the past two centuries of colonialism and Cold War: Africa is beset by poverty and …

International media have reported up a storm on the recent surge in China-Africa links. They invoke a theme familiar from the past two centuries of colonialism and Cold War: Africa is beset by poverty and ignorance, …

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zhai Jun’s recent visit to the Rwandan-DR Congo border region removed any lingering doubt, if there was any, that Beijing’s interests in the region extend far beyond natural resource extraction.   Zhai …

Before I moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo, someone asked me if I was going to learn the local language.  I replied that “I already do speak the local language there… Mandarin.”  Obviously, Mandarin …