THE Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi will this month visit Zimbabwe as part of a five-nation tour that will also take him to Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Burundi.
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed to Zimbabwe State media the development at a regular press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
The tour, which starts next Tuesday, is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between China and Africa.
“Since 1991,Africa has been the destination for the Chinese Foreign Minister’s first overseas visit each year for 30 years in a row,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.
“The continuation of this fine tradition once again speaks volumes about the high priority China consistently attaches to developing its ties with Africa as well as ever stronger China-Africa friendship.”
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the inception of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
According to Shuang, the Chinese foreign minister will seek to, “… implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and African leaders and jointly follow through on the outcomes of the (last) FOCAC Beijing Summit with a view to advancing China-Africa BRI cooperation, building on China-Africa traditional friendship and moving forward the bilateral ties between China and relevant African countries and China-Africa relations as a whole.”
