As the morning light pierced the mist in Addis Ababa, the flight flew northeast. The towering plateau of the Roof of Africa gradually retreated, and the gray-brown of rocks was gradually replaced by a caramel-like golden color. Afar Regional State, a hot spot in northeastern Ethiopia, greeted us with a scorching 45 degrees Celsius in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa.
This is a magical land. Erta Ale Volcano lurks quiet in the Danakil Depression. On our way to the mountaintop at midnight, the beam of the headlamp cut a faint channel in the darkness, and under my feet was the crackling sound of the cooling lava shell breaking, as if walking on the spine of a giant beast. The moment I reached the summit, I heard the heartbeat of the earth. The magma boiled and rolled in the crater, surging like liquid gold, and the bursting bubbles threw out hot spray.
This is a colorful land. In Dallol, a salt-alkali land like an alien world on earth, the ground is strangely yellow-green. As we moved forward, a surreal landscape suddenly came into our sight: sulfur rocks grow from salt crusts like giant mushrooms, together with boiling orange-red ponds, and feathery white forests. The most amazing was a pool of cobalt-blue hot springs, surrounded by bright yellow sulfur rocks and rising steam, like an alien’s eye staring at the intruders.
On a quiet night at the campsite in the open wilds, the starry sky seemed within reach. Out the Milky Way poured light from billions of light-years away, and under my feet was the most primitive pulse of the earth. At that moment, the awe of nature was rekindled.
When I touched the salt crystal and volcanic rock I collected in my bag, I felt again the restless heartbeat of Afar. The three-day journey brims me over with so many thoughts.
During my journey, I greeted Chinese employees who have been working hard in the heat and scarcity at the project site of Tanarmu Chemical Industrial PLC (TCI), a Chinese company in Afdera. TCI and other Chinese companies have invested in salt mining projects and worked hard in remote areas such as Afar, creating jobs, increasing tax revenue and driving local economic growth. I was sincerely happy to hear that the regional state government will assist in supplying electricity to the company and improve conditions for deepening cooperation. The diligence, tenacity and wisdom of the Chinese people are perfectly dovetailed with the rich resources of Afar and the locals’ expectations for development. Such integration will surely create more miracles on this hot spot. With the joint efforts of all sectors of China and Ethiopia, Chinese companies like TCI have taken roots and blossomed in all around Ethiopia over the years, making important contributions to the country’s economic and social progress with their own development, and making China-Ethiopia mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation deliver on the ground.
Along the journey, our vehicle bumped its way down the road paved with volcanic ash. The local driver accompanying us joked it as the “African Massage Road”. The backward road construction makes the magnificent scenery in the borderland even more distant from tourists. After several hours of jounce, we finally took on a smooth road. The driver explained that this was built for them by Chinese companies. At a glance ahead, the solid and flat asphalt road stretches to the sky, providing travel convenience for local residents and tourists. There is an old Chinese saying: to get rich, build roads first. Infrastructure is crucial to regional development. With enhanced cooperation, I believe that more Chinese companies will make greater contributions to infrastructure construction in places like Afar, and pave more roads for development and prosperity.
The asphalt road also serves as the road to modernization where China and Ethiopia are walking hand in hand. President Xi Jinping proposed the ten partnership actions for China-Africa modernization and advocated that China and Africa should march towards modernization hand in hand. Such will surely bring greater opportunities to Afar and Ethiopia as a whole to promote development through enhanced cooperation with China.
A Chinese proverb has it that “long as the journey is, we will surely reach our destination when we stay the course.” And an African saying goes, “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” At the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation last year, President Xi Jinping highlighted that on the path to modernization, no one, and no country, should be left behind. I think, on Ethiopia’s path to modernization, no regional state should be left behind. Afar, birthplace of ancient humans, is shining with new vitality. It should not be imprisoned by drought and barrenness. China is ready to deepen exchanges and cooperation with all sectors and all states of Ethiopia to march together towards an oasis of development and prosperity. Since I took office as Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia more than ten months ago, my visit to Bale Mountains, Yirgacheffe, Jimma, Arbaminch, Harar, Dire Dawa and other places in Ethiopia has impressed me deeply. This vast land with millennia of civilization, and hardworking and brave people, shares much in common with China. China, Ethiopia and Africa’s joint pursuit of modernization will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South, and open a new chapter in our drive for a community with a shared future for mankind!
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY H.E. MR. CHEN HAI, (Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia)
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2025
