Dr Zhang Xiaohu from Xiangtan University (China) is currently a visiting researcher at the Development and Rule of Law Programme (DROP) at Stellenbosch University. The Law School of Xiangtan University hosts the only Research Centre in China specialising in African laws and society. Dr Xiaohu is both the deputy director of the Centre for African laws and society, and the foreign affairs office in the law school at Xiangtan University. He is also the executive editor of the Xiangtan University African law review. Dr Xiaohu shall be involved in ongoing DROP research and writing projects throughout 2020 (which is the duration of his stay in Stellenbosch). He will engage in comparative law research on inter alia Chinese FDI investment in mining and large infrastructure projects in Africa. DROP is aimed at researching “sustainable development law and policy” with a focus on reconciling the tensions between environmental sustainability, economic development, and human welfare with a holistic view of current legal, political, economic, social and cultural developments. Research integrates public international law (i.e. international economic, social, and environmental law), regional and national law, including policy with the goal of enhancing the rule of law in Africa and around the world to reduce poverty in developing nations.
