Abiy Hosts China’s Wang Yi as Beijing Deepens Horn of Africa Diplomacy, Eyes Somalia Visit.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday hosted China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the National Palace, marking the latest signal of Beijing’s intensifying diplomatic engagement in the Horn of Africa.
The high-level meeting, held as part of Wang’s two-day official visit to Ethiopia, focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional and international issues, according to Ethiopian officials. Wang Yi, who also serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, is among Beijing’s most senior and influential diplomats, underscoring the political weight of the visit.
The talks reflect the long-standing partnership between Addis Ababa and Beijing, which has expanded over two decades to include infrastructure development, trade, investment, and security cooperation. China remains one of Ethiopia’s largest trading partners and a major financier of railways, industrial parks and energy projects, even as Addis Ababa seeks to rebalance its external relationships amid economic strain and regional instability.
Wang’s stop in Ethiopia is part of a broader African tour that also includes Tanzania, Lesotho — and notably Somalia. China’s Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that the foreign minister will travel to Mogadishu in the coming days, a visit that carries significant geopolitical overtones.
The Somalia leg of the trip comes at a sensitive moment in the Horn of Africa, as Mogadishu works aggressively to rally international opposition to Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland as an independent state. Beijing has already rejected the move, aligning itself with Somalia’s federal government and the African Union.
Analysts say China’s stance is consistent with its broader foreign policy doctrine, which places sovereignty and non-recognition of Somaliland at the center of international order — a principle Beijing applies not only in Africa, but also in cases closer to home, including Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.
While details of Wang’s planned meetings in Somalia have not been made public, officials familiar with the agenda say discussions are expected to cover bilateral cooperation, regional security, and the future of China–Africa relations. Somalia has become an increasingly important node in Beijing’s Red Sea and Indian Ocean calculus, particularly as global competition intensifies over trade routes, ports and political influence in the region.
Taken together, Wang Yi’s visits to Addis Ababa and Mogadishu highlight China’s methodical approach in the Horn of Africa: strengthening ties with established regional powers like Ethiopia, while simultaneously reinforcing the sovereignty-based international framework that favors Mogadishu — and constrains Somaliland’s push for broader recognition.
As geopolitical fault lines harden across the Horn, China intends not merely to observe, but to shape the diplomatic terrain.
