China Will Steadfastly Stand with Ethiopia, Oppose External Intervention: Ambassador Zhiyuan

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Addis Ababa, December 03,2021 (ENA) China will steadfastly stand with the Ethiopian people and keep to the consistent position of opposing external intervention in Ethiopia’s internal affairs under the disguise of human rights or democracy.

In his press briefing today, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan said China will continue to support the Ethiopian people as they work for peace, stability, development, and prosperity.

China-Ethiopia friendship is solid and unbreakable, he added, noting that Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi’s visit is another vivid example of the high-level of bilateral relations between the two countries that has taken the friendship to a new height.  

According to him, both China and Ethiopia are ancient civilizations and they enjoy a long-standing friendship that features mutual respect and treating each other as equals.

“We also have the same approach to international relations, namely following an independent foreign policy, upholding the principle of self-reliance and resilience, and opposing external interference,” the ambassador stated.

FM Wang Yi has stressed on many occasions that China firmly supports Ethiopia’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and independence; and believes that the Ethiopian government has the ability and wisdom to manage the country’s internal affairs.

“No matter how the situations are evolving, China will steadfastly stand with the Ethiopian people, and keep to the consistent position of opposing external intervention in Ethiopia’s internal affairs under the disguise of human rights or democracy. China’s active participation in the recent 'No More' campaign also gives strong support to Ethiopia,” Ambassador Zhiyuan said.

He further emphasized that China believes all humanity share the same future.

Deliberate division of “us” and “them” does not serve world peace and strategic stability. Democracy is not a patent held by a certain country, he underscored.

“There is more than one form of democracy, and more than one path to realize democracy. No country has the right to monopolize the definition and judgment of democracy, or claim itself to be the “beacon of democracy.”

The so-called “Summit for Democracy” is just another attempt to cement division and impose judgment on others. It goes against the trend of the times and ends with no support, the ambassador elaborated.

Regarding China-Africa cooperation, he said President Xi Jinping put forward nine programs under the first three-year plan of the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, which covers key areas of practical cooperation, including medicine and health, poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade promotion, investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, and peace and security.

Under the nine programs, China will implement 80 major assistance projects, it was learned.

China will open “green lanes” for African agricultural exports to China and expand the scope of products enjoying zero-tariff treatment for the least developed countries in a bid to reach 300 billion US dollars  imports in total from Africa in the next three years.

It will also encourage its businesses to invest no less than 10 billion US dollars in Africa in the next three years, and establish a platform for China-Africa private investment promotion.

China will provide credit facilities and trade finance to African financial institutions and exporters, and channel to African countries part of its share of the IMF’s new allocation of Special Drawing Rights. The country will continue to support the development of African Continental Free Trade Area and support the development of the “Great Green Wall” in Africa.

These specific measures meet the most pressing needs of African countries in development, and are in line with China’s efforts to build a new development paradigm at home and the global trend of development cooperation.

They provide a strong declaration of China’s continued commitment to Africa and the sustained momentum of China-Africa cooperation, which will inject new dynamism into Africa’s post-pandemic recovery.

Ethiopian News Agency
2023