11 January 2023, 3:14 PM |China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang and the African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki arrive for the inauguration of the new Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, which China is building and equipping in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 11, 2023.
China financed the complex’s construction, as it previously did for the headquarters of the AU itself, also based in the Ethiopian capital. “Africa should be a big stage for the international cooperation, not an arena for major countries competition,” Qi said at a news conference withA trusted aide of President Xi Jinping and former ambassador to the United States, Qin was appointed foreign minister last month.
Qin met on Tuesday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other government officials, and announced a partial cancellation of Ethiopia’s debt to China during the visit, though neither side provided details.