All the new goals of China in Africa

6 January 20222 years ago babelfish

Eritrea, Kenya and the Indian Ocean: these are the main stages of the new trip to Africa of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano

Continue the tradition by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China to play its first tour overseas travel in Africa, which comes after less than five weeks since his last trip where he coordinated the Forum on Cooperation between China and Africa which was held in Senegal.

What are the possible topics of discussion that will be addressed by the studies to make you Chinese?

ERITREA

The war in Ethiopia will undoubtedly be at the top of the agenda in Wang's talks with his counterpart Osman Saleh Mohammed. China and Eritrea are aligned in their support for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in his fight against Tigrean forces. The choice to go to Eritrea was probably also influenced by Beijing's growing popularity and influence throughout the Horn of Africa region.

In addition, the two sides could implement projects to strengthen the Belt and Road.

KENYA

Ethiopia will likely be a talking point in talks with Cabinet Foreign Secretary Raychelle Omamo, but not a very important one. Wang will probably want to avoid any confrontation with the United States. Indeed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed his support for Omamo regarding the war across the border. Instead, debt relief is likely to be a much more pressing concern for Kenyans. The Kenyan premier will likely try to persuade China Exim Bank to ease loan costs.

Wang might also pay a visit to the Nairobi Expressway, a high-profile public-private partnership with China Road and Bridge Corporation.

COMOROS ISLANDS

The inclusion of the Comoros islands in the itinerary reinforces the increased importance that Beijing attaches to the African states of the Indian Ocean. Last year Wang went to the Seychelles and after leaving Moroni, Wang will head to the Maldives and Sri Lanka, the main countries of the Indian Ocean.

China increasingly sees the Indian Ocean as one of its most strategically vital maritime interests , particularly with the opening of new overland trade routes through Pakistan and Myanmar that cut shipping times by weeks and reduce the vulnerability of the ship. China from the so-called "Malacca trap".

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/cina-africa-viaggio-ministro-esteri/ on Thu, 06 Jan 2022 06:52:51 +0000.