Africa: Chinese Foreign Minister Begins Tour to Namibia, Republic of Congo, Chad, Nigeria
For China, the African continent represents a source of vitality and a land rich in development potential
On Monday, January 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (pictured) began his annual tour of Africa, which this year will take him to Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria. This is the 35th consecutive year that China’s foreign minister has visited Africa on his first overseas trip at the beginning of the year, continuing a tradition of further strengthening China’s already significant political, economic, commercial, and financial influence on the African continent.
“China firmly believes,” the Chinese diplomatic chief told reporters, “that Africa has never been a forgotten continent, but rather a source of vitality and a land rich in development potential.”
China has numerous infrastructure projects in Africa, from power plants and grids to highways and railroads. For Beijing, the process of technical and technological modernization will enable Africa to offer important new markets to Chinese companies in the near future also for innovative and technological products, including electric traction vehicles.
According to the Chinese press, “Wang’s decision to visit the Republic of Congo, who will take up the position of co-president of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) this year, underscores Beijing’s commitment to implementing the results of last year’s summit.” China is getting involved in finding solutions to regional security challenges in Africa, which explains Wang’s choice to visit Chad, a country from which France recently began withdrawing its armed forces.
