Beyond their centuries-old historical ties, Ethiopia and China enjoyed an official diplomatic relations spanning over half a century. The bilateral relation between the two has long been marked by substantial trade and Chinese investment though a notable trade imbalance exists. China remains the leading source of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia and a key lender to the country. The two countries ‘elevated’ their bilateral relationship to an ‘All-Weather Strategic Partnership’ on Nov 17th, 2023.
To gain insights into the various bilateral and multilateral issues the two nations are engaged in, The Reporter Magazine approached China’s ambassador to Addis Ababa, Zhao Zhiyuan. Excerpt:
The Reporter Magazine: In last November, the two countries have upgraded their bilateral relations to an ‘all-weather strategic partnership’. What specific implications does this upgrade hold and what does it guarantee?
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Amb Zhao Zhiyuan: “All-weather Strategic Partnership” is a higher-level friendly relationship, which means that China and Ethiopia agree to step up mutual support in questions of each other’s core interest and major concern, are committed to further enhancing mutual trust, cooperation across the board and strategic consultation regardless of how the external and internal environment changes.
Meanwhile, as All-Weather Strategic Partners, China and Ethiopia will continue to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen political mutual trust and exchanges on governance, and enhance practical cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the people of the two countries, and implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative together, and promote the joint building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
Furthermore, the two sides will establish different mechanisms in related areas with Ethiopia, such as a high-level consultation mechanism between two foreign ministries, and a coordination mechanism for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative.
During PM Abiy Ahmed’s (PhD) official visit to China in October, a total of 14 agreements were reportedly signed by the two governments. Could you elaborate on the nature of these agreements? Specifically, in which sectors were agreements made, and have any concrete steps been taken towards their implementation?
During PM Abiy Ahmed’s visit, the two sides conducted an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations, regional and international issues of mutual interest and reached broad consensus. The two sides signed several agreements in various fields which include investment, infrastructure, media, technology, culture, health, and so on, all the agreements will lays solid foundation in the cooperation of these areas. PM Abiy Ahmed’s visit was a complete success and is of great significance to the development of China-Ethiopia relations.
There is a significant Chinese investment presence in Ethiopia, what, in your view, makes Ethiopia attractive for Chinese investors to invest and what challenges, do they encounter? Considering the trend in the last ten years, how would you evaluate the overall presence of Chinese investment in Ethiopia, in terms of both number of projects and value?
In recent years, under strong guidance and leadership of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy, China and Ethiopia have achieved fruitful results in the area of economic and trade practical cooperation, including trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, communications, etc. China has been Ethiopia’s largest trading partner, largest source of investment, and largest project contractor for many years in a row. At the same time, Ethiopian high-quality agricultural products, such as sesame and coffee, are rapidly entering the Chinese market, and are increasingly welcomed and loved by the Chinese consumers. As a large country in Africa, Ethiopia has a population of 120 million, rich labor resources, huge market potential as well as abundant clean energy resources, such as hydropower and wind power. Also, the African Union is located in Ethiopia. All of these advantages make Ethiopia quite influential in Africa, attracting more and more Chinese enterprises to invest in Ethiopia.
In recent years, more and more Chinese enterprises have invested in Ethiopia. According to statistics released by EIC, in the single year of 2023, Chinese enterprises have invested 223 new projects in Ethiopia, with an accumulative investment amount of about 34.29 billion birr, creating 65,000 job opportunities. By the end of 2023, more than 500 Chinese enterprises have invested almost 2000 projects in Ethiopia all together, with an accumulative investment amount of about 5 billion dollars, creating 580,000 job opportunities. I believe that in 2024, our bilateral ties will usher in greater opportunities for development.
Recently in Ethiopia, a number of companies have been forced to significantly curtail or even halt production due to reasons that have to do with conflicts in different parts of the country and persistent foreign exchange (Forex) shortage among other factors. How affected are the Chinese companies in this regard? What way outs do you propose?
China and Ethiopia have always attached great importance to the safety and security of Chinese enterprises, institutions and people in Ethiopia. Recently, the security tension in some areas of Ethiopia has made certain adverse impact on the normal operation of some Chinese enterprises in Ethiopia, and relevant Chinese enterprises have taken temporary measures to withdraw some workers to safer places in the short term. In this regard, China and Ethiopia have taken active actions to effectively protect Chinese enterprises and people in Ethiopia. China hopes that both sides further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of security and law enforcement, and to increase security investment in areas with tense security situations, so as to provide stronger security support to Chinese enterprises, institutions and people, and to jointly guide the sound and steady growth of high-quality development of joint construction of the “Belt and Road” between China and Ethiopia.
Recent downgrades by international credit rating agencies have placed Ethiopia on the brink of default. As a significant lender to Ethiopia, how does this situation impact your country, and what potential consequences can we anticipate?
China has noticed that Ethiopia was previously downgraded by relevant agencies due to the European debt default.
China has always provided firm support to Ethiopia during difficult times, and has helped relieve Ethiopia’s repayment pressure for many times. At present, from the multilateral perspective, China is actively promoting the debt settlement of Ethiopia under the Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the DSSI; from the bilateral perspective, China has actively responded to Ethiopia’s request for debt suspension, and has made positive progress, setting an example for other creditors.
In the next step, China is willing to continue to cooperate closely with Ethiopia, to promote the resolution of the debt issue of Ethiopia.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a flagship ambition celebrating its 10th anniversary last September, has garnered significant attention, claiming to ‘foster Africa’s development landscape and boost economic growth’. To help our readers gain a clearer understanding, how does that work in practice? As it celebrates its tenth anniversary, what concrete signs of progress are evident in terms of its impact on both the continent and Ethiopia?
During the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping announced eight major steps China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, covering important issues such as connectivity, an open world economy, practical cooperation, green development, and technological innovation, and has reached a series of practical cooperation agreements with African countries, including Ethiopia. Currently, China has been cooperating with Ethiopia to actively promote implementation of relevant agreements, and has achieved a series of positive progress:
First, to promote the construction of key projects. For example, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway project has been handed over to the operator from the Ethiopian side successfully;and the River Treatment Section of the second-phase China-aid Ethiopian Addis Ababa River Side Green Development project continues to make breakthroughs; and the Adwa Museum project has been completed successfully. All of these projects have been continuing to change the socio-economic outlook of Ethiopia.
Second, trade exchanges continue to become closer. Thanks to the continuous efforts of our two sides, China-Ethiopia trade volume has exceeded 3 billion dollars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24.4%, and the variety of commodities has also been continuously enriched.
Third, to deepen cooperation in the financial industry. Since the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, China has received Ethiopian delegations of financial management institutions in China, such as the National Bank of Ethiopia, and has conducted useful discussions with Ethiopia on deepening financial cooperation and building communication platforms.
Fourth, to strengthen talent training. With the joint efforts of our two sides, currently, the number of Ethiopians who come to China to study under China-aid framework ranks close to the topall over the world. The areas of study cover industrial development, business administration, science and technology, etc. It is of great significance for our two countries to strengthen cultural exchanges and cultivate local Ethiopian talents.
With its established presence in the Red Sea region, your country navigates a complex landscape of intensifying geopolitical interests, competition, and rivalries. How do you view the future of the region amidst these dynamics? What balancing act does your country see as crucial to ensuring stability and fostering win-win outcomes for all stakeholders?
I prefer not to comment on that.
What does the expansion of BRICS mean to you? What goal/s does BRICS aims to achieve as it expands and keeps on embracing more countries as members? What do you consider a bliss that BRICS offers to the world and what specifically does your country bring to the table for new members?? In turn, what expectations do you hold for new members?
The expansion of BRICS is of historic significance. It meets the expectation of the international community and serves the common interests of emerging markets and developing countries. It also marks a new starting point for BRICS cooperation, and will inject new impetus into the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further expand the force for world peace and development.
The Chinese side welcomes Ethiopia joining in BRICS mechanism. The two sides will continue to embrace the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation and the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, strive for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization together.
