China’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, has begun his annual New Year tour of Africa, launching the trip on Wednesday with a strong focus on the strategically important eastern part of the continent as Beijing moves to reinforce its influence in Africa, Reuters reported. This year’s tour will take Wang to Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho.
His visit to Somalia, the first by a Chinese foreign minister since the 1980s, is expected to give Mogadishu a diplomatic lift following Israel’s decision last month to become the first country to formally recognise the breakaway Republic of Somaliland, a northern region that declared independence in 1991.
After that announcement, Beijing reiterated its support for Somalia and is seeking to strengthen its presence around the Gulf of Aden, a key gateway to the Red Sea and a vital route for Chinese trade moving through the Suez Canal to European markets.
Further south, Tanzania plays a central role in China’s efforts to secure access to Africa’s extensive copper resources, with Chinese companies currently refurbishing the Tazara Railway that runs through Tanzania into Zambia.
The project gained added prominence after Chinese Premier Li Qiang made a landmark visit to Zambia in November, marking the first trip by a Chinese premier in 28 years.
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The railway is widely viewed as a strategic counterweight to the U.S. and European Union-backed Lobito Corridor, which links Zambia to Atlantic ports through Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Wang’s final stop in Lesotho is aimed at highlighting China’s push to present itself as a supporter of free trade, following Beijing’s decision last year to grant tariff-free access to its $19 trillion economy for the world’s poorest countries, fulfilling a pledge made by President Xi Jinping at the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing.
Lesotho, one of the world’s poorest countries with a gross domestic product of just over $2 billion, was among the nations most affected by sweeping U.S. tariffs imposed last year under President Donald Trump, facing duties of up to 50 percent on its exports to the United States.
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Image Credit: Reuters
