From 22 to 30 March, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo, and attended the Fifth BRICS Leaders' Meeting. On the way back, Foreign Minister Wang Yi briefed the accompanying journalists about the president's visit.

From hosting the world's top emerging powers to enforcing the Rwanda/DRC peace agreement and monitoring elections in Zimbabwe, South Africa is looking good on the world stage. But critics from within say Pretoria's diplomacy has lost its way. Gathered in the grand Oliver Tambo Building in Pretoria, South Africa's top diplomats were not expecting fireworks when President Jacob Zuma gave his annual pep talk on 11 April.

Nearly twenty years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa is still a country of controversy and conflicting narratives... Which direction is South Africa heading in today? It’s been a beacon for Africa over the last twenty years, a continent of its own competing narratives: on the one hand, an emerging “economic giant” with a growing middle class; on the other, a hot spot for rising terrorist groups and home to more than a few nasty dictators.

APDS Blogger: Jennifer Yael Green

Nearly twenty years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa is still a country of controversy and conflicting narratives.

As the political leadership adapts to new public diplomacy strategies, citizens will acquaint themselves more and more with new technology.... Social media tools become what we make of them. At the moment, neither the South African government nor the public are using social media as vigorously as elsewhere.

Stories of rape, gun crime, police brutality and obscene levels of violence flashed across the globe, overshadowing the country's breathtaking landscapes, stunning wildlife and the joy of the 2010 football world cup. “South Africa's seemingly untouchable reputation started to wane,” said Dion Chang, founder of Flux Trends analysts. “The death of a Mozambican taxi driver at the hands of the police invoked apartheid style brutality, and Oscar Pistorius brought South Africa the harshest form of unwanted publicity.”

This week it emerged that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation has budgeted more than R1.5 billion to repair and build properties for foreign diplomatic missions over the next five years.

The Spanish institution Casa Africa and SAMRO Foundation has announced the 'Johannesburgo Vis a Vis' initiative, the first music contest and business meeting between Spanish music producers and South African musicians. From Thursday, 11 to Saturday, 13 April, Johannesburg will be the City for a new edition of 'Vis-a-Vis' to promote a greater presence of African music on Spanish stages.