Time-Tested Ties

Twenty years on, FOCAC drives stronger China-Africa cooperation on multiple levels

- Xia Yuanyuan

The biggest challenge to his diplomatic career - that’s how Ethiopian Ambassador to China Teshome Toga Chanaka describes 2020. The unexpected novel coronavirus pan demic resulted in 300 Ethiopian students stuck in Wuhan, the capital city of central China’s Hubei Province (where the country’s first case was reported). “The embassy phones were ringing offthe hook at that time [with our people wanting help and information],” Chanaka recalls.

However, despite the dire situation he also witnessed how the China-Africa partnership triumphs in the face of adversity.

The ambassador called on the students to strictly adhere to the local epidemic prevention regulations, after having personally witnessed the national effort waged by China and how the nation united as one in the face of the health threat.

Chanaka also witnessed how China came to Ethiopia’s assistance as his country battled with its own threat of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Apart from dispatching medical teams and anti-pandemic materials, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced construction of the Africa CDC headquarters in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, would begin this year ahead of schedule, to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity.

The construction of the Africa CDC headquarters is a commitment by China made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit in 2018 and a concrete example of building a China-Africa health community.