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Red Sea attacks, Horn of Africa issues and war in Gaza set to dominate discussions during Wang Yi’s African trip
- China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is due to visit Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast on his four-nation tour of Africa this week
- Analysts expect China could help mediate the many crises the region is facing, including Houthi rebel attacks and the Israel-Gaza war
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The crisis in the Middle East, hotspot issues in the Horn of Africa and Houthi rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea are likely to dominate discussions when Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this weekend.
Egypt is the first stop of a four-nation trip that Wang is making to Africa, which will also include Tunisia, Togo and Ivory Coast as part of a three-decade tradition in which Chinese foreign ministers make their first overseas visit to Africa.
Egypt has become a popular destination for Chinese diplomats, too, with this being the second consecutive year that a Chinese foreign minister has visited Cairo.
China’s foreign ministry said the purpose of the trip is to implement the follow-ups of the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in August last year, compare notes with the African side on the 2024 Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and, “carry forward the traditional China-Africa friendship and consolidate the momentum of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation”.
Another Chinese official, Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong, will visit Uganda from January 15 to 24 for the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit and the Third South Summit of the Group of 77, a bloc of developing countries. He will also visit Algeria, Cameroon and Tanzania.
According to Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, Egypt’s influence across the Middle East, as well as its geographical location at the intersection of Africa, Asia and Europe, make it an important geostrategic partner for Beijing.
Kenyan journalist Jevans Nyabiage is the South China Morning Post's first Africa correspondent. Based in Nairobi, Jevans keeps an eye on China-Africa relations and also Chinese investments, ranging from infrastructure to energy and metal, on the continent.
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