Beijing wants the continent to be a stage for international cooperation, not great power rivalry
Promoting Beijing’s investment in African development and modernization during his first foreign trip, China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday that the continent should not become a battleground of rival world powers.
Qin began his five-country tour in Ethiopia on Wednesday, opening the new headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control (CDC), built by Chinese engineers. While in Addis Ababa, he met with the Ethiopian leadership and visited the African Union headquarters. He is scheduled to visit Egypt, Angola, Benin, and Gabon before returning to China.
“Africa should be a big stage for international cooperation, not an arena for competition between major countries,” Qin said at a press conference with AU Commission chair Moussa Faki.
Qin, the former Chinese ambassador to the US, became foreign minister last month. He continued the tradition of traveling to Africa as the first foreign destination in the new year, which he noted has been going on for 33 years without interruptions.
Speaking at the opening of the Africa CDC, he outlined Beijing’s vision for relations with Africa, saying the two will always have a shared future “no matter how the international environment changes.”