BA (York), MSc (London)

Daniel is a consultant with particular interest in the current and emerging role of China and other Asian actors in eastern Africa. Having taught for a year in south-east China (1994-1995) and studied mandarin at Qingdao Ocean University (1998-1999), he specialized in Chinese foreign relations as part of his MSc at SOAS (2000) and is completing his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

From 2004, his doctoral research on the politics of humanitarianism in Sudan sparked an interest in China-Sudan relations. In July 2006, he convened an academic conference on China-Africa relations at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and editied the resulting book, China Returns to Africa: A Superpower and a Continent Embrace (Hurst). He has presented papers about China-Africa relations at a number of events and worked for Christian Aid, Small Arms Survey, and DFID. He has also worked for UNDP, UNICEF, the ODI and the Rift Valley Institute, for whom he developed and directs the Sudan Archive, a digital resource aimed at providing open access to historical and contemporary knowledge about Sudan.

Daniel is interested in the increasingly important aspects of natural resources management and utilisation that are a consequence of increased China-Africa relationships and is working with Kilimanyika in increasing our knowledge of this relationship and its impacts. Daniel is director of the Africa-Asia Centre, part of the Royal African Society at SOAS.