Ambassador David Shinn Visits Primary Source

On Thursday, March 6, at Primary Source in Watertown, former United States Ambassador David Shinn presented a nuanced view of the relationship between China and African nations.

During his 37 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, he worked at embassies in Lebanon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Cameroon, and Sudan, and served as ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. Ambassador Shinn drew on his extensive experience to contextualize the contemporary economic and political connections between China and Africa. The following day, he led a well-received workshop on Africa-China connections with middle and high school educators at Primary Source.

Ambassador Shinn currently teaches African studies at George Washington University and is engaged in a two-year study of China-Africa relations.