...Starmer goes to China It can be fascinating and bewildering in equal measure, to watch what is currently happening in the world. After Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Sir Kier Starmer also went to Beijing - to seek a ‘‘more sophisticated relationship’’ with China, according to him. President Emmanuel Macron of France was there not so long ago, you remember. ALSO READ: Is Canada slipping out of the U.S. orbit? Starmer took with him a powerful delegation of British leaders in various sectors, each of them expecting to return with something in their hand. Indeed, Beijing did not disappoint - there were some instant benefits. British citizens will be able to travel to China visa-free for 30 days. British whisky is welcome to China at 5% tax; down from 10% before Starmer visited, and I hear more Chinese are becoming more ‘western’ sophisticated these days. AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish Biopharma company headquartered in Cambridge (UK) secured a deal to invest $15bn into the Chinese lucrative market- in research and development and drug manufacturing. “Today’s USD 15bn investment marks a new chapter for AstraZeneca in China, which has become an important contributor to scientific innovation, advanced manufacturing, and global public health,” declared CEO Pascal Soriot in a press release. Expect more deals to be announced at the end this three-day visit. Washington sees it differently and declares these deals as “dangerous’’. Of course, we ordinary mortals do not know what dangers lie ahead. Time will tell, nonetheless. However, we can be sure of more deals between the world’s ‘middle’ and small powers with Beijing. Moreover, those signing deals now are happier than before visiting to China. It is important to note, before we leave this topic, that most of, if not all these ‘middle powers’ until recently were breathing fire against China for her “appalling human rights record’’. Now they seem to be cosying up! As one commentator put it, “China is not fighting the Western alliance, they are buying it off one trade deal at a time’’. ...Canterbury gets first female archbishop Away from global politics (not far from it though), history was made at Canterbury as the Church of England appointed first woman archbishop. The former Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, was confirmed on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, in a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Central London, and becomes the 106thperson to hold this position since the year 597. Dame Mullally replaces Justin Welby, who resigned over a year ago due to the mismanagement of the infamous case of serial abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth. The new archbishop is not oblivious to the challenge of overturning a 1429-year history. She said after the confirmation service: I've always understood that people may find my appointment as a woman difficult in the Church, and what I hope to do is to be able to provide a space where I can offer hospitality to people, where I can listen to what their concerns are and, in a sense, find some way in which we can at least have partnership together in that way’’. Indeed, her authority was immediately challenged by the Archbishop of the Church of Nigeria Henry Ndukuba, labelling it devastating, and insensitive to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate. The global Anglican Communion has been plagued by many differences especially same-sex marriage. ... No more ‘Panda love’ between China and Japan The withdrawal of China’s furred ‘diplomats’ this week marked a love lost between Beijing and Tokyo. China uses these beautiful creatures as a gesture of warming or cooling relations with other countries, in what has become known as ‘Panda Diplomacy’. Therefore, China withdrew her Pandas from Japan due to strained ties over territorial disputes in the East China Sea. These animals were first sent by China to Japan in 1972 to mark the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Ownership is normally retained by China, including baby Pandas born in the hosting country. The world has enough problems right now; let us hope this does not go from Pandas to pandemonium in the East China Sea. The author is a keen observer of global affairs.
