Chinese foreign minister to visit Egypt, Tunisia this week: ministry

Beijing,- AFP

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will this week visit Egypt and Tunisia, Beijing has said, as part of a four-country Africa tour before he heads to Brazil and Jamaica.

Wang’s first trip of the new year comes as China increasingly focuses on ties in the Global South, seeking to bolster its influence in regions traditionally dominated by the United States and its allies.

Wang’s visit to Egypt will follow that of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is set to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo for more talks aimed at containing Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

No details were given on Wang’s intended agenda while he is in Cairo.

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution.

President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the fighting.

Israel has subjected Gaza to a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,357 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Wang’s Africa trip, which will also include Togo and Cote d’Ivoire, will take place from January 13 to 18, the foreign ministry said.

It continues a 34-year tradition of Chinese foreign ministers travelling to Africa on their first trip of a new year.

It will “continue the traditional friendship between China and Africa, and consolidate China-Africa solidarity and cooperation”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.