ADDIS ABABA – China–Ethiopia relations gained renewed momentum as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid China’s traditional annual Africa visit, while Addis Ababa also hosted the launch of the 2026 China–Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at the African Union headquarters.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s tour to Africa marks the 36 consecutive years of China’s diplomatic tradition of annual Foreign Ministry’s visit to Africa. Wang Yi’s visit also includes Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho.
During Wang Yi’s Ethiopia leg, on Jan 8, Prime Minster Dr. Abiy Ahmed received the foreign minster at the Ethiopian national palace for a two days visit and reaffirmed the strategic significance the two nations’ partnership.
Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos also held talks with Wang Yi, with both sides agreeing to further strengthen strategic coordination at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Gedion reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to deepening cooperation through frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), BRICS-Plus and the United Nations.
FM Gedion also took note of China’s initiative of the Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa, highlighting its significance in helping tackle security issues and ensure stability in the horn.
The two sides agreed to expand cooperation in trade, infrastructure, energy, transportation and law, while advancing collaboration in emerging sectors including e-commerce, artificial intelligence and green energy, alongside cultural, educational and tourism exchanges.
Ethiopia reaffirmed commitment to One-China policy, expressing that Taiwan is a part of the territory People’s republic of China.
While China has emerged as Ethiopia’s largest source of investment and its largest trading partner, with annual trade volume of around $3.5 billion, Ethiopia also plays a strategically important role for China in Africa by hosting China’s largest industrial parks, serving as a flagship location for major Belt and Road Initiative projects such as the Addis–Djibouti Railway, and implementing extensive Chinese infrastructure developments including highways and urban utilities projects, while also holding significant diplomatic and geopolitical influence in the Horn of Africa.
China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at AU headquarters
Similarly, on Jan 8, the launch ceremony of the 2026 China–Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges was held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. Wang Yi read out a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping and delivered a keynote address, calling for deeper dialogue between China and Africa at a cultural and people-to-people level.
The event was attended by senior African and Chinese officials, including Jean-Claude Gakosso, foreign minister of the Republic of the Congo, the African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie.
This year will mark the 26th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC).
China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with trade reaching $314 billion from January to November 2025, according to the Beijing-based daily Global Times.
China’s decision to drop tariffs on imports from all 53 African countries has significantly elevated the rate at which African products enter the Chinese market, further strengthening diplomatic ties.
