The relations between Ethiopia and China date back decades even in imperial times when the Emperor had a protracted visit to China and met with the then leader Mao Tse-Tung. It was early days when China did not yet have the geopolitical and economic significance it had in the world. The world was largely dominated by the sort of duel between the USSR and the USA and China was not seen such a huge reality for a number of reasons. But it was clear that it was growing fast and with the resources it had the economic policies the ruling party had adopted, the inevitability of its growth was undeniable.
China has always had good relations especially with the liberation movements of Africa when they were trying to extricate their countries from colonial domination. As Ethiopia was an exception in the African reality having been always independent and adopting its own policies and nurturing its own relations with which ever country it wanted, it approached China as an ally and the relations began to build up along the years.
After the downfall of the monarchy the ‘socialist’ government of the military was even more interested in the bilateral ties with China and China’s influence grew by the years that were to come. Chinese ideology was popular among the military and the Chinese model was being considered as one to be followed by Ethiopia and many other emerging African countries such as Tanzania for instance. China relied a lot on its agricultural potential and a great deal of human resource to expand its economy for successive years along with its industrial complex. Ethiopia wanted to share that experience from it and looked towards it trying to learn particularly in areas where its success was more remarkable and applicable to Ethiopia.
China’s economy has been the fastest growing for years and began to be a huge reality in the world presenting a challenge to the taken for granted dominion of the West and Russia and other huge economic realities. Today China is the second largest economy in the world and is expected to be the first one in a few years.
The Chinese have proved themselves as very hardworking people and their economy grew exponentially with this quality of their people and the policies their government implemented consistently along the years. Among others the Chinese are reputed for saving at least fifty percent of their income and this has contributed a lot to the expansion of the economy as banks had a lot of money to lend to those who wanted to embark on a new business venture with massive investments. Such surplus was to result useful even for its foreign investment ventures particularly in Africa and other developing countries.
China’s relations with Africa grew along the years and countries such as Ethiopia continued to be a close development partner in various fields. Today the figures show that Chinese involvement in the development ventures of African countries is visible wherever one goes to visit any African country. Immense African infrastructure projects are financed and constructed by China. Chinese banks have granted billions of dollars in concessions or soft loans to African countries who suffer from lack of funds to finance their ambitious projects. What is more, important from an African perspective is that Chinese aid is never dependent on the policies that African countries would follow because China has the policy of zero interference in the internal affairs of these countries with which it has close and strong partnership ties.
Ethio-China relations have continued to grow to a new height even during the EPRDF government and China’s involvement in the development ventures of the country has grown progressively reaching new heights. Today it is difficult not to see a Chinese involvement in practically every kind of Ethiopia’s economic ventures with assistance of various kinds beginning from massive grants and loans and generous concessions to human resource development with transfer of technology and knowhow.
There are thousands of Chinese firms operating in Ethiopia in multiple fields and their contribution to the growth of the economy is palpable. Moreover, there are thousands of Chinese nationals engaged in constructions in the country and Ethiopia has been taking full advantage of this close relation with China to nurture its economic trajectory to new heights.
With the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), the relations with China have grown even to greater heights because of mutual respect and cooperation in a number of fields. China has resulted to be a good friend of Ethiopia when the country was undergoing difficult times and its influence in the UN Security Council has resulted to be very decisive in averting certain measures against Ethiopia from being adopted and helped Ethiopia get out of crisis moments successfully. The unwavering support of China for the Ethiopian government in hard times has contributed to develop even closer ties between the two countries.
According to the present Ethiopian Ambassador to China Tefera Deribew currently Ethiopia’s relations with China are among the closest in the world and only four countries have such level of relations with it. In Africa, Ethiopia is the country with the strongest ties with China and the recent official state visit of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to China is a demonstration of this situation. Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan said the establishment of ‘the All Weather Strategic Partnership’ between Ethiopia and China is a milestone for the two countries’ friendship.
In any relations that China has with African countries, the first country Chinese officials visit is Ethiopia and for a good reason because Ethiopia is considered as a ‘gateway for Africa’, given its history, its geopolitical situation and its influence in African affairs as one of the founding members of the African Union and seat of the organization.
Chinese officials have visited Ethiopia in multiple occasions including their prime minister, the foreign minister and other high government officials as well as prominent Chinese firms’ leaders and investors. China realizes and acknowledges the potential Ethiopia has with its large youth population and the approval of Ethiopia accessing the BRICS economic group with the active support of China is a clear symptom of this reality. China has resulted to be more than a simple strategic partner of Ethiopia.
During the latest visit of the high level delegation led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed multiple agreements have been signed in consolidation of the already very close ties between Ethiopia and China. The agreements ranged from the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative which was launched ten years ago with Ethiopia being one of the beneficiaries of this massive initiative. The long railroad Addis Ababa –Djibouti electric project is one of them. The implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in Ethiopia is among the agreements signed between the two countries. Agricultural development, green economy development, and urban development are also among the other agreements inked between the two countries on the same occasion.
It was during the visit of Prime Minister Abiy that the elevation of the partnership between the countries from Comprehensive and Enduring Strategic Cooperative Partnership to an All Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership level has been announced by the Chinese President Xi. The talks the premier had with the maximum authorities of China including President Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister Li Qiang dealt with the enhancement of these relations to new heights and levels. It was reported that 12 agreements and 2 letters of intent in various fields were signed between the two countries to strengthen cooperation in various fields.
According to Ambassador Birtukan Ayano who was a member of the premier’s delegation, agreement was signed between the two parties to support efforts in ensuring the quality of coffee production in Ethiopia throughout the whole process from cultivation to export. Other agreements were also sealed in the field of health, culture, tourism and technology.
During the visit Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed underlined on the importance of Chinese investment in Ethiopia’s economy and encouraged more investment in to five key economic pillars for the Ethiopian growth aspirations namely agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, mining and tourism. The premier in his remarks has said that China continues to be a critical partner for Ethiopia and that is thanks to the leadership of President Xi Jinping and continued to say that Ethio-China relations have set a constructive model for China-Africa and South-South cooperation. Abiy said we can build on this model to effectively address our current and future development challenges in the new era.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2023
