Ethiopia's export to China grows amid booming trade, investment ties: Chinese ambassador

ADDIS ABABA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's export to China has registered steady growth amid booming trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan said Thursday.

In 2021, compared with the previous year, Ethiopia's exports to China increased by 8 percent as new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Chinese companies to Ethiopia grew by 346 percent, the official said.

Zhao made the remarks during the China-Ethiopia Investment and Trade Cooperation Forum that was co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and the Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce of China on Thursday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The value of newly signed contract projects by Chinese companies in Ethiopia was up by 25 percent in the same period, Zhao said.

According to the Chinese ambassador, Chinese FDI in Ethiopia and other main indicators of bilateral commercial cooperation has maintained good momentum during the first quarter of the current year.

Zhao said for consecutive years, China has been Ethiopia's biggest trading partner, the top source of FDI and the largest project contractor, as the two countries deepen cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Practice has proved that no matter how the international situation changes, the overall direction of China-Ethiopia practical cooperation and long-term friendship will never change," Zhao told forum.