Podcast appearances and mentions of hannah ryder

As China's economy rebounds and consumer interest grows, over 20 African designers debut at the Africa Reimagined Showroom at SHFW 2025. We speak with Hannah Ryder, Anissa Mpungwe, and Taibo Bacar on how African fashion is making waves in one of the world's most strategic markets.

CGD's Gyude Moore speaks with Hannah Ryder of Development Reimagined and Yunnan Chen of ODI Global about the evolution of China's relationship with Africa, the opportunities presented by FOCAC 9, and where the money should go to do the most good. 

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined, to discuss how debt and the high cost of debt servicing are affecting economies in Africa. They unpack the history of African debt, the increased role of private lenders and non-Western countries like China on the continent in recent years and how this diversification of creditors might complicate future debt relief efforts. They examine how reforms of the global financial system along with more coordination among African countries could reduce the debt burden and improve their access to financing. They also assess what options African leaders have to tackle the challenges posed by high debt and debt servicing absent larger structural changes to the global financial system. This episode of The Horn is produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.For more you can read Hannah's Foreign Policy piece African Lending Needs a Better World Bank, her opinion article in African Business Why are some creditors more preferred than others? and our Africa regional page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2024 FOCAC summit in Beijing has concluded. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted 50-plus leaders from African nations and leaders from regional and global organizations such as the United Nations, African Union, etc. The summit adopted the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era. The leaders also approved a three-year action plan till 2027, in which China committed 360 billion yuan, or about 50.7 billion dollars, in financial assistance for Africa.What does the Beijing Declaration entail? How will this summit direct the future of China-Africa relations? Host Liu Kun joins Hannah Ryder, the CEO of Development Reimagined, an international development consultancy; Mubarak Mugabo, a Uganda journalist at Vision Group; and Zha Daojiong, a Professor of international political economy at the School of International Studies at Peking University.

China promises African nations $50 billion in loans and funding at a summit of leaders in Beijing. It underlines the country's position as the continent's number one investor. What does this investment mean for Africa, China and its western rivals?  In this episode: Hannah Ryder, former diplomat and economist. Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Global Dialogue. Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at the Taihe Institute in Beijing. Host: James Bays Connect with us:@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Think of any infrastructure project in Africa, and it's likely a Chinese firm will be behind it. In 2020 Chinese firms were responsible for a third of all African infrastructure projects. So what does this mean for the continent? To find out Claude Grunitzky speaks to Hannah Ryder, the CEO of Development Reimagined (DR), an independent international development consultancy. They have offices in Beijing, Nairobi, and London. Hannah has over 20 years experience working as a diplomat and economist. She also led the United Nations Development Programme's work with China to help improve its development work in Africa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chinese and African governments are beginning to negotiate the agenda for the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit that will take place in Beijing later this fall. Development finance, infrastructure, and green technology are all expected to be prominent themes, but this year's event will be considerably different than previous summits, given that it comes at a time of considerable economic uncertainty for both China and African countries. Hannah Ryder, CEO of the international development consultancy Development Reimagined, recently co-hosted an African ambassadors retreat in China that brought together senior officials from both sides. Hannah joins Eric, Cobus, and Géraud to share a few insights from that retreat and what to expect in the run-up to the FOCAC summit. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hmryder Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth  

The world is currently facing multiple crises, from geopolitical conflicts to pandemics and climate change. But amidst this turbulence, international aid budgets are being stretched as domestic issues take precedence. The UK has cut its overseas aid budget significantly, from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income. Meanwhile, low-income countries need more support than ever, as they deal with the fall out of wars, extreme poverty, natural disasters and humanitarian issues. The costs involved are huge, and while aid still has a role to play, we need to look beyond grants to unlock funding on a bigger scale to fix these problems.In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham and chair of the cross-party international development parliamentary committee; James Mwangi, founder of Climate Action Platform for Africa, an organisation working to unlock Africa's potential as a global hub for climate action; and Hannah Ryder, CEO at Development Reimagined, an Africa-led and women-led international development consultancy.Focusing on the African continent, they explore the need to reform global financial institutions, and how the UK can develop new models of financial support that rely less on aid and more on partnership and collaboration with low-income countries.This podcast is sponsored by ONE, a not-for-profit international development organisation which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.Join the fight for a more equal future: visit one.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has wrapped up a four-nation tour to the African continent. The trip took him to Egypt, Tunisia, Togo, and Cote d' lvoire. What were the highlights of Foreign Minister Wang Yi' s African trip? What will be the main focus of China-Africa cooperation this year? How will China adapt its strategies to align with Africa's evolving development goals and priorities? Host Zhao Ying is joined by Dr. Karim Ben Kahla, Professor of Governance at Tunis High School of Commerce; Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined; and Dr. He Wenping, Africa expert and Senior Research Fellow at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Qin Gang is carrying on a 33-year-old tradition by making Africa the first official visit of the new year for China's foreign minister. Qin took office just two weeks ago and is new to African affairs, so this week's five-nation tour is more about him and his hosts getting to know one another than engaging in substantive policy discussions.But the tour comes at a critical juncture for China's engagement on the continent. Chinese lending to African countries is down, great power competition is up and there's a new foreign policy team in Beijing that appears more focused on the U.S. and Europe than Global South regions including Africa.Hannah Ryder, CEO of the development consultancy Development Reimagined, isn't worried. She joins Eric & Cobus this week to explain why she's optimistic about this year's prospects for Chinese engagement in Africa.JOIN THE DISCUSSION:Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @hmryderFacebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProjectFOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC:Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChineعربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfrJOIN US ON PATREON!Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!www.patreon.com/chinaafricaprojectSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, we kick off the new network show, the China-Global South Podcast, with a conversation with the show's hosts and co-founders of the China-Global South Project (formerly the China Africa Project), Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden. Kaiser chats with them about where the show is going, and common misconceptions about China's role in the Global South.1:45 – Reasons for launching the new China-Global South Podcast13:50 – What Washington's framing of China's activity in the Global South gets wrong19:24 – Explaining the lack of China expertise in Africa and the Global North25:27 – The unresolved history of Western colonialism in Africa28:44 – How Chinese statecraft navigates Africa's colonial legacy36:00 – The infantilization of African agency45:03 – The limited development options of African stakeholders47:33 – China's environmental impact on the Global South57:13 – How small states can effectively navigate great power politicsA transcript of the podcast is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations:Eric: Following Gyude Moore, Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development: @gyude_moore; Hannah Ryder; CEO of Development Reimagined: @hmryder; Ovigue Eguegu; Policy Analyst at Development Reimagined: @ovigweeguegu; and Christian-Geraud Neema; and Francophone Editor at the China-Global South Project: @christiangeraudCobus: The Specter of Global China: Politics, Labor, and Foreign Investment in Africa by Ching Kwan LeeKaiser: Chinese traditional bow maker AF Archery; The Way of Archery by Gao Ying, translated by Jie Tian and Justin MaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The conversation about Africa and its foreign partners is often boiled down to beneficiaries vs. donors. This black-and-white picture fails to capture the unique economic and political contexts that shape how African countries develop their foreign policy agendas. International policy circles often neglect this Africanist perspective because the region's countries often lack adequate representation in the rooms where critical international political decisions are made–even in instances when the discussions held focus on the continent. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined (DR) about why and how this dynamic is shifting as African governments join forces to grow their international influence.

Development Reimagined (DI) brings a cross-cultural understanding and gap support to international agencies and governments that wish to work with China to cultivate and share knowledge for the public good. CEO Hannah Ryder and Senior Policy Analyst Patrick Adam joined us to dissect Africa's working relationship with China.We begin the conversation by enquiring from our guests about the foundations of anti-China sentiments in the world and explore what makes China a complex player in our world's geopolitical and economic interplays. Patrick focuses on the blueprint document he led, "From China-Africa to Africa-China: A Blueprint for a Green and Inclusive Continent-Wide African Strategy towards China," to explain the approach African leaders should take in dealing with China and how to maximise the best outcomes for their nations through the lens of trade, infrastructure and human capital. Patrick underscores how the formation of trade relations between Africa and China through establishing The Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was first an African-borne initiative and how that difference may differ from other such bloc partnerships.Hannah believes Africa should be focused on adding value to raw materials and building better regional infrastructure if aspirations like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are to be fully realised. While African nations may not always have the depth of information that development partners in China need, organisations like DI assist in bridging such gaps. Ultimately, DI's opposition is that these initiatives must also be green and sustainable to avoid future transitions like China's. Hannah argues against the popular opinion that Africa is debt trapped and believes it needs even more debt (quality debt focused on value-addition) to power its developmental gaps that cannot be financed internally. We explore the dilution of Africa's narrative in the hands of other actors and how to take on more agency in determining how the world sees the continent.Hannah advocates for a public China strategy (and similarly for the Western bloc) that engages the public on the vision of such collaboration on the needs of the country and its citizenry. We conclude by exploring innovative ways to rethink developmental finance around the idea of "group lending" at a multilateral level. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is China's presence in Africa a positive one? What more can Africa do to increase the benefits received from a China-Africa relationship? Has Africa's relationship with China changed over time? This podcast answers all these questions, and many more, giving us a different viewpoint on the relationship which the Asian super-power has with the African Continent. Join the conversation on: Twitter - @BrenthurstF / Facebook - @BrenthurstFoundation / Instagram - @brenthurstfoundation

Do current “development” structures work? If not, why? And what solutions are out there that place greater agency in low-income countries to shape these development structures and results?Hannah Ryder is the CEO of Development Reimagined, an international development consultancy in China, which provides strategic advice and practical support to African, Chinese, and international stakeholders on issues ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to Africa’s growth markets to green growth and China’s aid and investments. Hannah is an economist and former diplomat, and Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington DC. She is also a member of the UAE’s International Advisory Council on the New Economy and sits on the Executive Board of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.Development Reimagined’s Decolonising Global Health Report  What COVID19 informs us about on risk perceptions of Africa African Debt narratives and structures Blueprint for decolonising the development sectorChina-Africa in 2021 Twitter: Hannah RyderDevelopment Reimagined Dan BanikIn Pursuit of Development https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com/

Welcome to today's episode of the Migration & Diaspora Podcast, a podcast about all things migration, with me your host Loksan Harley, and boy do we have a show for you today! Today I was joined by a good friend of mine, and seriously one the most inspiring and hardworking people I know, Hannah Ryder. Hannah is the CEO and founder of Development Reimagined, a pioneering international development consultancy in China. Development Reimagined advises Chinese businesses how to invest in Africa sustainably; they advise sustainable African businesses on how to enter the Chinese market; and they work with governments, UN bodies and NGOs to strengthen their China–Africa policies. Development Reimagined also happens to be the first Kenyan Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise in China - a marvellous achievement I'm sure you'll agree. Hannah is a former diplomat and economist, and her understanding of international relations was honed as one of the youngest negotiators for the UK in climate change talks. With close to 20 years of experience, she is also Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic International Studies, and sits on the Executive Board of the British Chamber of Commerce in China. Hannah has won several awards for leadership in China and Africa as well as for her contributions to gender and racial diversity and youth development. She's also played various advisory roles for the UN, and is regularly cited in and invited to write/talk on a number of Chinese, African and global media outlets like Bloomberg, Quartz Africa, the Diplomat, the Guardian, and CGTN . You need only to Google "Hannah Ryder" or "Development Reimagined" to discover the extraordinary breadth of her work. Hannah and I met while she was head of the United Nations Development Programme's Policy team in China, and we had so many common areas of interest, as many of you listening may recall that I've lived and worked across Africa and China, and China-Africa relations are a huge passion and research interest of mine. I also have great admiration for Hannah and her team's work to collect and share data widely and in an accessible way on China-Africa-related topics, including on some migration issues. Hannah was therefore the ideal guest to talk about China-Africa migration. In our fascinating talk we touched on Hannah's migration experience as an entrepreneur in China. We talk about some of the trends of Africa-to-China migration and the challenges and opportunities faced by African migrants in China, including in the context of COVID-19. We also talk about China-to-Africa migration, which is a topic some of you may know I've written about too for the Migration Policy Institute. If anyone has any questions about today's podcast, then feel free to get in touch with either of us via our websites which you can find in the show notes. Thank you very much for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show. Useful links Development Reimagined: www.developmentreimagined.com Twitter: @devreimagined @hmryder Book recommendation: China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa, by Howard W. French Development Reimagined's analysis of African student migration: https://developmentreimagined.com/2020/09/08/where-africans-study-abroad-post-covid19/ Some of my recent research on African visa requirements for Chinese nationals: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/african-countries-relax-short-term-visa-policies-chinese Thanks for listening! Feel free to visit loksanharley.com/podcast, where you can subscribe to the mailing list and get in touch!

This week, Juliana is joined by Hannah Ryder, the founder and CEO of Development Reimagined, a pioneering international development consultancy and the first Kenyan wholly foreign-owned enterprise in Beijing. It provides strategic advice and practical support to Chinese and international organizations on issues such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Africa’s growth market, development effectiveness, and China’s foreign aid. Hannah is also a former Kenyan and British diplomat, and an economist with over 15 years of experience.

This week, Juliana is joined by Hannah Ryder, the founder and CEO of Development Reimagined, a pioneering international development consultancy and the first Kenyan wholly foreign-owned enterprise in Beijing. It provides strategic advice and practical support to Chinese and international organizations on issues such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Africa’s growth market, development effectiveness, and China’s foreign aid. Hannah is also a former Kenyan and British diplomat, and an economist with over 15 years of experience.

Hannah Ryder is an economist by training, a former diplomat, and has close to 20 years of experience in international development. She is the founder and CEO of Development Reimagined, a pioneering international development consultancy firm and the first Kenyan wholly foreign owned enterprise in Beijing. Development Reimagined has built a niche in providing strategic advice and practical support to African, Chinese and international stakeholders on issues from the Belt and Road Initiative, to Africa’s growth markets, green growth and China’s foreign aid. Hannah also sits on the Executive Board of the British Chamber of Commerce in China and has played various advisory roles for the UN. She speaks to us about working with the UK government as an economist, disparities in capacities of global north and global south negotiating teams, the challenge of country ownership, centring developing country perspectives, the resource limitations of the UN, establishing Reimagining Development, China-Africa relations, debt as one tool in development, going beyond lazy solutions, working with and pushing the private sector, systemic change vs tinkering at the edges and and much more. She joins us from Beijing, China.

Less than one week after alarming videos, photos, and accounts of African migrants being forced out of their homes and hotels in the southern China city of Guangzhou, the story has been “sorted out” in the eyes of many African leaders. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, declared as much this week in a Twitter post after meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhōu Píngjiàn 周平剑. Similarly, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama convened a press conference earlier this week, also with Ambassador Zhou, to explain that he was satisfied with the Chinese government’s explanation over what happened.The African Union and a number of African politicians across the continent echoed similar sentiments: As far as they are concerned, the issue over the purported maltreatment of African migrants in Guangzhou is now settled. So what did we learn from this unprecedented crisis that touched so many raw nerves in the China-Africa relationship? There were conflicting narratives based in part on the fact that the Chinese do not consume the same social media diet as the rest of the world. And the Chinese declared repeatedly that contrary to what people saw on Facebook or heard in the media, there is no discrimination in Guangzhou or anywhere in China.Hannah Ryder was watching all of this unfold from Beijing, where she’s the CEO of the consultancy Development Reimagined and a longtime commentator on China-Africa issues. Hannah joins Eric and Cobus to reflect on the events of the past week and what lessons, if any, were learned from this whole affair.JOIN THE DISCUSSION:Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProjectTwitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @hmryder | @DevReimaginedDevelopment Reimagined’s COVID-19 Infographic: How are African countries dealing with COVID-19’s economic impact?SUPPORT THIS PODCAST. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT.Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following:1. A daily email newsletter of the top China-Africa news.2. Access to the China-Africa Experts Network3. Unlimited access to the CAP's exclusive analysis content on chinaafricaproject.comSubscribe today and get two-weeks free: www.chinaafricaproject.com/subscribe

  Representatives from 53 African countries are expected to attend the inaugural China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo that will take place in Changsha, capital of the south-central province of Hunan, from June 27-29.  Those African officials attending the expo will no doubt have one over-riding objective: sell more stuff to China. At first glance, China-Africa trade looks healthy. Trade between the two regions rebounded sharply in 2018 to more than $204 billion, reversing a multiyear slump and reaffirming China's role as the continent's most important trading partner. But those big numbers also conceal serious problems. The Chinese sell far more than they buy from Africa, fueling yawning trade deficits that are potentially unsustainable. In fact, 40 countries across the continent currently have trade deficits with China. China's trade is also not spread evenly geographically or across various industries. An estimated 70 percent of everything that China imports from Africa is either minerals, timber or oil, the bulk of which comes from just ten countries. The situation in Kenya highlights the disparity that is common in most resource-poor African countries where, according to the government's National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya exported just $167 million to China last year but imported a staggering $3.78 billion worth of goods, mostly equipment used to build infrastructure like the Standard Gauge Railway. China, for its part, does acknowledge the problem and events like the one that will take place in Changsha are purportedly intended to facilitate more African imports to the Chinese market in the hopes of minimizing the current trade imbalance. But experts say it won't be easy. Hannah Ryder, CEO of the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, advises stakeholders from both Africa and China on trade-related issues. While she acknowledges the current trade relationship has its problems, she also thinks there are new opportunities for African exporters that can potentially help narrow the divide. Hannah joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the current state of China-Africa trade and what can be done to make it more equitable and sustainable for both sides. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: What do you think of the current China-Africa trading relationship? Are you concerned about the trade deficits that China runs with most African countries or do you think this will eventually resolve itself as African countries industrialize and move up the production value chain? Let us know. Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @hmryder Email: eric@chinaafricaproject.com | cobus@chinaafricaproject.com   Sign up here if you would like to join our weekly email newsletter mailing list for a carefully curated selection of the week's top China-Africa news.

On this episode I interview Charles Stevens, who as part of the New Silk Road Project (www.newsilkroadproject.com) traveled over 10,000 miles on the "Silk Road Economic Belt" in a Jeep. Along the way he interviewed different local and Chinese stakeholders who are building, analyzing and using the new Chinese financed and built infrastructure. If you are looking for more on-the-ground stories of what is happening along the Belt, this episode is for you. Charles' recommendations: 1) China Steps Out: Beijing's Major Power Engagement with the Developing World - edited by Joshua Eisenman and Eric Heginbotham https://www.routledge.com/China-Steps-Out-Beijings-Major-Power-Engagement-with-the-Developing-World/Eisenman-Heginbotham/p/book/97811382029312) The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan https://www.amazon.com/Silk-Roads-New-History-World-ebook/dp/B00XST7IX2Erik's recommendation: Anything written by Hannah Ryder twitter: @hmryder Specifically "My New Year's Resolution: Why I'm Banning "The West" https://developmentreimagined.com/2019/01/14/my-new-years-resolution-why-im-banning-the-west/Follow what Charles and the New Silk Road Project are doing @onebeltprojectFollow the latest news, research and analysis @beltandroadpod

On this podcast, Hannah Ryder - economist, diplomat, development expert - talks about the recent FOCAC Summit in Beijing, a complex relationship between China and African countries and challenges related to running effective development projects.

On this podcast, Hannah Ryder - economist, diplomat, development expert - talks about the recent FOCAC Summit in Beijing, a complex relationship between China and African countries, and challenges related to running effective development projects.

Over the past 10 years Chinese leaders have made 79 official visits to 43 different African countries, according to new data from the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined. Where the senior leadership goes offers some fascinating insights on China's priorities in Africa. Hannah Ryder is the founder of Development Reimagined and led the research on Chinese official travel to Africa to produce a compelling new infographic detailing the past decade of Chinese travel patterns across the continent. Hannah joins Eric & Cobus to discuss some of the surprising findings that she discovered in her research on what African countries Chinese officials seem to prioritize over others. Join the discussion? In this era of digital connectivity, do you think it matters that Chinese officials appear to spend a lot more time in Africa than their counterparts from the U.S., Europe and Japan? Let us know what you think. Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @hmryder Email: eric@chinaafricaproject.com  

To call China a colonial power is to diminish the true horrors that were faced by colonized communities. But that does not mean that African countries can be complacent as Chinese actors continue to deepen their economic engagement with the continent. In this episode, PS associate editors Whitney Arana and Greg Bruno speak with Hannah Ryder, a former head of policy and partnerships for UNDP in China, about China in Africa.

Over the past few months, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China has put out two phenomenal Sino-Africa reports: the 2015 Report on the Sustainable Development of Chinese Enterprises Overseas, co-authored by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce and the Research Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration under the Commission of the State Council, which was released on November 9; and If Africa builds nests, will the birds come?: Comparative Study on Special Economic Zones in Africa and China, which was written in conjunction with the International Poverty Reduction Center in China and released on December 17. To talk about those reports, and for what UNDP China has planned for 2016, hosts Winslow Robertson, Lina Benabdallah, and Yiting Wang have invited on the pod Hannah Ryder, the Head of Policy and Partnerships for the UNDP in China, to the pod. She leads a group of national and international experts in UNDP to support China to cooperate practically and effectively with other countries and develop its positions on various key international issues, including the post-2015 development agenda, China’s climate change policy, and China’s development cooperation.

New research from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in China indicates Beijing is beginning to become more open in international aid development programs. If so, this would mark a significant change from the past where the Chinese government has often been criticized for its lack of transparency in how it disperses overseas development assistance. The UNDP's findings were published this month in a report on "Demand-Driven Data: How Partner Countries are Gathering Chinese Development Cooperation Information." Beijing's apparent willingness to be more open about its expanding aid agenda comes as other major donors are also increasing their development assistance, particularly in Africa, following a sharp downturn in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The UNDP's Head of Policy and Partnerships in Beijing, Hannah Ryder, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her team's new report and the politics of Chinese foreign aid.

Hannah Ryder has been on the job as the United Nations Development Program's Deputy Country Director for China for just a couple of months. Although she's new to China, Ryder is a veteran development professional with experience in Europe and Africa. A Kenyan-native, Ryder is using the opportunity in China to better understand what lessons from China's incredibly rapid economic development of the past three decades can be applied globally, particularly in places like Africa.