While the world is focused on hot spots in Ukraine, the Red Sea or the escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a tour of a series of African and South American countries.
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| Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (right) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press conference in Cairo on January 14. (Source: AFP) |
For Africa, Foreign Minister Wang Yi's trip will start from Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast from January 13-18. This visit continues the tradition of over 30 years, Africa has always been the destination of the Chinese Foreign Minister's first foreign trip of the year.
This time, after the final stop in Africa on January 18, Foreign Minister Wang Yi continued to visit two South American countries, Brazil and Jamaica, from January 19-22.
Traditional partners
Before Foreign Minister Wang Yi left, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that the visit aimed to implement the results achieved in the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue. The event was held in August 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the sidelines of the 2023 BRICS Summit co-chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. There, President Xi Jinping announced support for African countries to accelerate industrialization, agricultural modernization, and the development of high-quality human resources for Africa.
Meanwhile, according to Liu Hongwu, Director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, the visit continues to show that Beijing has long attached great importance to cooperation with Africa and South American and Caribbean countries. Indeed, China is currently Africa's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching $140.9 billion in the first half of 2023 alone and the figure for the entire year is likely to more than double that. Meanwhile, China has been Brazil's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years.
Since 2013, during his visit to Tanzania, President Xi Jinping has put forward the guiding principles of China’s foreign policy toward Africa as “sincerity, practical results, friendship and goodwill.” Sun Hong, a researcher at the Institute of African Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, commented that these principles govern and accurately reflect the nature of China-Africa relations.
“The Best of Times”
During talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on January 14, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that Beijing has always pursued independent foreign policies and supported true multilateralism. Wang congratulated Egypt on joining the BRICS bloc and stressed that “in today’s complex and unstable world, Beijing and Cairo, as representatives of major developing countries, are important factors in maintaining strategic stability.”
Also in Cairo, during a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the same day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi affirmed that Beijing is always ready to cooperate with Arab countries to promote new progress in cooperation between the two sides. He recalled that Chinese and Arab leaders reached important consensus at the first China-Arab Summit held in Riyadh in December 2022 to bring bilateral relations "to the best period in history".
During talks with his Tunisian counterpart Nabil Ammar on January 15, Foreign Minister Wang Yi affirmed the “great friendship” that China and Tunisia have achieved over the past six decades. Wang said that China and Tunisia have firmly supported each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. In addition to the written commitments, Foreign Minister Wang Yi inaugurated the Tunis International Diplomatic Academy built by Beijing in the presence of President Kais Saied. Responding to Beijing’s warm welcome, Ammar affirmed that this is a concrete result of cooperation in the Belt and Road and the crystallization of the deep friendship between the two sides.
Arriving in Togo on January 16, Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured his counterpart Robert Dussey that China continues to strongly support Togo in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and that “true friends will support each other at critical times.” The Togolese foreign minister pledged to adhere to the “One China” policy and fully support Beijing in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Careful selection
With such a consistent goal, the focus of the talks between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterparts from Ivory Coast, Brazil and Jamaica was aimed at what Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said before the visit, "to further consolidate the foundation of political trust, raise the level of mutually beneficial cooperation and coordination on major regional and international issues, and deepen the stable development of China-Latin America relations."
This year, China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. China has been Brazil's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. 2024 is also the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-Jamaica Strategic Cooperative Partnership.
In such a context, according to the Center for Global Development at Boston University (USA), the first trip of the year by the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry is a careful choice, with the goal of maintaining and expanding influence in traditional areas, ensuring the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative in this region.
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