Following the tradition of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, made his first overseas visit of the year to Africa. On the 8th local time, he attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 "China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges" in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. In his keynote speech, Wang Yi highly praised the achievements of China-Africa people-to-people exchanges, noting that African tours are becoming increasingly popular in China.
Wang Yi stated that China-Africa relations have a long history and enduring traditional friendship. In recent years, under the joint guidance of leaders from both sides, China-Africa people-to-people interactions have blossomed with vibrant achievements, demonstrating great vitality. With a focus on youth exchange, platforms such as the China-Africa Future Leaders Dialogue, Youth Leaders Forum, as well as events like the Grand Youth Gathering and the "Tiangong Dialogue," have built bridges of communication for young people from both regions.
Focusing on capacity building, from actively promoting the "China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Plan" to establishing 17 "Luban Workshops" in 15 African countries, tens of thousands of professionals have been trained, providing strong intellectual support for African development. As for everyday life, a large number of Chinese film and television works, such as "Minning Town" and "Welcome to Maile Village," have entered thousands of households and been warmly received by African audiences.
In addition, China has signed bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with more than 30 African countries, and the number of African countries and regions open to Chinese citizens for group outbound tourism has increased to 34. "Africa tours" are becoming increasingly popular in China.
Wang Yi said he is pleased to see that the people of China and Africa are getting closer, China-Africa cooperation is expanding, and the China-Africa friendship is deepening. Facts have proven that people-to-people exchanges are the solid foundation of the China-Africa friendship, and mutual learning among civilizations is the strongest driving force for China-Africa cooperation.