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Heads Published: January 21st, 2025

Zhang Yu: Building bridges in turbulent times

It takes a while to get a clear picture of Prof. Zhang Yu 张彧’s numerous projects. The 51-year-old has already achieved a great deal in her life – as an entrepreneur, author, patron of the arts and bridge builder between Germany and China – even if she considers the term “bridge builder” somewhat “overused.”For over […]

Heads Published: January 19th, 2025

Ingbert Liebing: for continuity in the Green Deal

Mutual understanding was Ingbert Liebing’s most important concern on his first trip to Brussels. “I wanted to convey our philosophy of municipal self-government to Brussels. Apart from Austria, Germany is unique with this in Europe,” says the current Managing Director of the municipal utilities association VKU. As a member of the Bundestag, Liebing was the […]

Heads Published: January 13th, 2025

Deng Li: Dove of peace succeeds the wolf warrior as new ambassador in Paris

Deng Li (邓励) has been China’s new ambassador to France and Monaco since the beginning of January. The career diplomat took over the post from Lu Shaye. Lu was notorious for his controversial statements and was regarded as a model wolf warrior. Deng has extensive diplomatic experience, has maintained a low profile so far, and […]

Heads Published: January 9th, 2025

Beena Sharma – for CO2 cycles and more women in the energy sector

Innovation is the key to fighting the climate crisis. This is something Beena Sharma is certain of. “At least 50 percent of the technology we need for net zero emissions has not yet been invented,” she says. Sharma is CEO and co-founder of CCU International, a company founded in 2022 that works on technology for […]

Heads Published: January 7th, 2025

Luuk van Middelaar and his think tank on geopolitics

Three heads of state and government sealed the foundation. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and the then Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte came together in October 2022 when the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics (BIG) think tank was founded. The three founders Luuk van Middelaar, Hans Kribbe and Sébastien Lumet now have the […]

Heads Published: January 5th, 2025

‘Our Chinese Life’: From the family life of Western influencers in Shenzhen

Watching a video of the Kay family for the first time feels like a trip back in time to the 80s. In the opening, the four family members Ursula, David, DeeDee, and Freddy already appear in a home video aesthetic that you might remember from “ALF” or “Full House.” The grainy flickering is accompanied by […]

Heads Published: December 18th, 2024

Adel al-Jubeir – career diplomat and Saudi climate envoy

As the world’s second-largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia often causes conflicts in climate negotiations. Extremely diplomatic in its approach, in climate negotiations, Saudi Arabia uses complicated and less known rules of the process, raising objections on seemingly trivial issues and rules of procedure, and presenting proposals they know will not be acceptable to slow down […]

Heads Published: December 17th, 2024

Lee Jae-myung: South Korea’s potential head of state raises hopes in Beijing

Lee Jae-myung could become the next South Korean president. Beijing will probably take note of this with hope. Lee’s critics call his China policy naive, which probably pleases the Chinese government. Lee refuses to take sides and strives for a balance between the world powers in Washington and Beijing. He is considered an outspoken opponent […]

Heads Published: December 9th, 2024

Jaume Duch – from the EU Parliament to Catalonia

Jaume Duch was born in Barcelona in 1962 but worked for 37 years as a high-ranking EU official several hundred kilometers from the Costa del Maresme. For the last two decades, he has worked in Brussels as spokesman and Director-General for Communications at the EU Parliament. He is now returning to his home country as […]

Heads Published: December 8th, 2024

David Perdue: New US ambassador used to relocate jobs to China

Donald Trump plans to appoint David Perdue as the new US ambassador to China. At first glance, this decision seems fitting: Perdue, a prominent Republican, is known for his support of Trump’s aggressive China policy. But behind his hardliner image lies a career closely intertwined with China and other Asian countries.David Perdue was born in […]