Addis Ababa, 5 September, 2015(WIC)- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn Friday in Beijing, pledging more efforts to help Ethiopia boost infrastructure.
China and Ethiopia should advance reciprocal economic cooperation and step up cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Xi said during the meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
Hailing the smooth development of the bilateral relationship over the past decades, Xi said China is willing to work with the Ethiopian side to translate their traditional friendship into a strong driving force for further cooperation.
Xi stressed that the two countries should understand and support each other on issues concerning their core interests.
“China stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with Ethiopia on major international and regional affairs, and jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries.” said the Chinese president.
Hailemariam arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to attend the commemorations for 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Expressing gratitude for Hailemariam’s attendance, Xi said this shows the profound friendship between the two peoples and demonstrates the Ethiopian people’s commitment to safeguarding peace and justice.
Xi lauded the Ethiopian people’s contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.
Hailemariam said he was glad to attend the event in Beijing.
Ethiopia gained invaluable support from China during and after the anti-fascist war, said the visiting prime minister, while pledging to pass on such traditional friendship.
Ethiopia regards China as a priority partner and will strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as industrial capacity, agriculture, and urbanization, as well as regional and international affairs, Hailemariam said (www.china.org.cn).
Meanwhile, China Development Bank (CDB) said it will provide financial support to Chinese enterprises to encourage investment in steel, cement and shipbuilding in Ethiopia.
CDB president Zheng Zhijie said China has advanced and extra production capacity in some sectors and Ethiopia, with rich natural resources and abundant labor, needs rapid industrialization.
“The potential of bilateral industrial cooperation is great. Ethiopia is now one of our key partners in Africa,” said Zheng.
China has been Ethiopia’s largest trade partner and biggest source of foreign investment for years.
Chinese direct investment in the African country totaled 910 million U.S. dollars at the end of 2014, and foreign trade between the two countries rose 55 percent to 3.4 billion U.S. dollars last year.
During a meeting on Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn agreed to further promote cooperation in areas including infrastructure construction, energy and agriculture.