… articles which shed light on China’s changing role in the world. China-related pieces accounted for three out of the top five.
The article which attracted the most unique page views was What exactly is ‘one belt, one road’?, setting out China’s vision of a Silk Road for the 21st Century. This bald and uncatchy title proves that there is a need for clear explanations of concepts which become buzz words for the specialist before they are widely understood.
Number 2 was Why China is winning the war in Ukraine, a counter-intuitive take on a conflict from which China has benefited without firing a shot. In fourth place was China’s inroads into the West, a look at the consequences of China’s charm offensive towards Europe at a time when the Old Continent seems to be drifting away from the United States.
The non-China entries into the top five included Diplomacy: The academy training Britain’s future envoys, a behind-the-scenes look at the way the UK Foreign Office is trying to squeeze more impact from a declining budget. In this year of instability in Europe, we will return to examine Britain’s place in the world ahead of the forthcoming referendum on leaving the European Union.
Finally, at number 5, came Wresting order from the chaos, a timely exposition of what Europe should do to defend its liberal way of life after the Paris attacks in November.
The online audience does not just read content on the web. Some things cry out to be downloaded, pinned to the wall or even, in the case of one reader, framed. The hands-down winner for downloads in 2015 was our Tube tongues graphic, which places the languages spoken in London (after English) against the classic map of the London Underground. This was part of our Cities of the Future edition, and convincingly showed how mega-cities are outgrowing their host nations. You can download it here
Alan Philps
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