Li Zhaoxing, the chairperson of the China Public Diplomacy Association interacting with journalists at the trilateral forum held in Beijing in April

Li Zhaoxing’s handshake is as firm as his spirit. If you hail from Africa, he might surprise you with the breadth of knowledge he holds about your country.

Here is a man who has worked or lived in 51 out of 54 countries in Africa. His knowledge of the continent is more than just a passing description, but a photographic record of intricate details.

I ask him about the turbulent times in Uganda in the 1970s and he quickly recalls attending a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, where former Ugandan president, the late Idd Amin, was present.

“Amin was a very interesting man,” Li says, an obvious euphemism for the impulsive disposition associated with the late dictator.

In a room of about two dozen journalism fellows from Africa, Li greets everyone with a broad smile, pointing out with vivid detail what he remembers about each of their countries.

Having spent nine years working in Kenya, Li is fluent in Kiswahili, one the most spoken languages across Sub-Sahara.

He is as fast in interaction with people around him as the ideas that come to his brain. And over the years he has somewhat cultivated a different view of Africa.

For instance, one of his fascinations during his first trip to Africa was about the African hut, primitive dwelling which he described as ‘eco-friendly’ way of living.

His challenge to young people in Africa and across the world: travel as widely as you can and know something about a different world. And he has good reason for it.

The 76 year old former diplomat is probably one of the most widely-travelled people on the planet. By March this year, he had been to 186 of the 197 countries across the globe.

Who is Li Zhaoxing?

Born in Shandong Province in October 1940, Li graduated from Peking University in 1964 with a degree in English Literature and has published several books and a collection of poems.

Li started his diplomatic career in Africa in the 1970s as staff officer and attache of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.

He rose through the ranks to senior positions including that of Spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry, assistant foreign minister and First Secretary at the Chinese Embassy in Lesotho.

He served as China’s Permanent Representative and ambassador to the United Nations, Chinese ambassador to the US and was appointed foreign minister in 2003.

He was a member of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chairman of the legislative arm’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

He is also an honorary professor of many Mainland universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Diplomacy champion

Li is known in international diplomatic circles as the ‘poetic diplomat,’ in part candid due to his charm and articulate appeal on certain matters of his country’s foreign policy.

Li is currently the chairperson of the China Public Diplomacy Association, a non-profit organization made up of former Chinese diplomats who consult and coordinate matters of public diplomacy.

The organization is the host of the China-Africa Press Centre, a fellowship programme in its third year established to boost media cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and African media.

While serving as ambassador to the US, Li gained recognition for his upholding US-China relations in the face of crisis after the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

So much that January 29, 2001, the last day of his term in office was declared “Li Zhaoxing’s Day”, by the Mayor of Washington DC, in recognition of his efforts to foster US-Chinese relations.

In 2004, Li was awarded the Chilean Neruda Presidential Medal in memory of the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda, a renowned Chilean poet and a Nobel Prize Winner.

He is one of the most sought-after speakers at global diplomacy forums and has been the silent face of China’s diplomacy drives with her Asian neighbours including Japan and South Korea.

Taddeo Bwambale is a journalist working with the New Vision newspaper in Uganda, a fellow of the China-Africa Press center and an intern at People’s Daily Online.