- Abiy will have a one-on-one dialogue with the Chinese President Xi Jinping
- Expert advices the Premier use the opportunity to pursue alliance & attract more private Chinese investment.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will embark on his first trip to China next month ahead of the high-level summit of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled to be held from September 4-6 in Beijing, Ethiopia Observer learnt.
Abiy will have a one-on-one dialogue with the Chinese President Xi Jinping for bilateral talks, in addition to taking part in the summit. The pair are likely to discuss on issues of agriculture, construction and commercial trade, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Xi Jinping who conducted 11-day trip in July to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa will chair the upcoming FOCAC summit, it was said.
The meeting is important for Abiy Ahmed who took office on April and is working hard to seek solution for his country that is bearing the brunt of currency crisis, and is trying to garner foreign investment to ramp up infrastructure projects.
Ethiopia beneficiary of Belt and Road Initiative
Chinese officials say the FOCAC summit will elevate China-Africa Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership to a new level. Ethiopia and several other African countries are being groomed by Beijing as beneficiaries of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which it says will create a trade and infrastructure network spanning the ancient Silk Road through Europe and Africa. Road, rail and pipeline infrastructure of the region and the continent is the core agenda of BRI and the Ethiopian Premier should use this opportunity to put his country at the forefront and to further strengthen Ethiopia’s position in this regard, the Cologne-based China Africa Advisory’s Founding Director, Alexander Demissie told Ethiopia Observer.
A more cautious approach in lending
China and Ethiopia set up diplomatic ties in 1970. China has become an increasingly aggressive investor in Ethiopia and other African countries. According to official statistics, it has provided more than $13bn loans between 2006 and 2015 for big infrastructure projects in Ethiopia. However, there were recent media reports indicating Beijing has started to take a more cautious approach in its lending, as Ethiopia has been lagging in loan repayments.
Ethiopia needs adjustment in its strategy towards China and Abiy’s team should work on a new and revamped strategy to attract more private Chinese investment.
Alexander Demissie says that it is indeed becoming increasingly difficult to get loans from China. The reasons could be attributed not only to delayed payments but also due to changes in China’s lending behaviour, he says. “China is quickly adopting the lending practices of western lending institutions, highlighting that the changing risk assessment procedure- this will automatically lead to fewer lending coming from China in the future.”
Alexander said Ethiopia will continue to benefit from China’s largess because of its importance as strategic partner and its burgeoning market place. “It is means that now well thought out plans and executions are required from Ethiopia,” he said. “Ethiopia needs adjustment in its strategy towards China and Abiy’s team should work on a new and revamped strategy to attract more private Chinese investment to Ethiopia,” Alexander who is writing a doctoral thesis on China-Ethiopia relations at Bonn University said.
(Main Image: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Cairo, Egpt June 10, 2018.)
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