On March 4, 2008, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hongbo met with a delegation headed by Nigel Parsons, managing director of Al-Jazeera English. Both sides exchanged in-depth views on furthering cooperative relations as well as the channel's reporting on China.

Following the meeting, Wu also gave a television interview to Al-Jazeera English, taking questions from journalist on the Beijing Olympic Games, the Darfur issue, China's international responsibility and the six-party talks.