On Friday 6^th June, Al Jazeera held the latest recording of its premier interview show “Head to Head”, hosted by Mehdi Hasan, the Political Director of the Huffington Post.

This time, Mehdi interviewed Dr. Zhang Weiwei, the author of “The China Wave” and former interpreter to Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Mehdi challenged Dr. Zhang on the Chinese political model, human rights record and economic success, and discussed whether democracy could ever work for China. Joining the debate were Professor Stephen Chan, Professor of International Relations at SOAS, Martin Jacques, author of “When China Rules the World”, and Economics Professor Diane Wei Liang.

The discussion was lively and productive, covering interesting and important issues relating to China’s development and global role. The opinionated and informed audience at the Oxford Union also had their own opportunity to pose questions to Dr. Zhang at the end of the show.

The next “Head to Head” recording will take place on Wednesday 18^th June, and will focus on the topic of humanitarian intervention, with Dr Bernard Kouchner, the former Foreign Minister of France, as the key guest. All recordings will also be aired on the Al Jazeera network and website later this year.