En the opening of its first “China-Horn of Africa conference on security, governance and development”, which is being held Monday and Tuesday in Addis Ababa, China, which has many interests in the region, offered its mediation . “I stand ready to provide mediation for the peaceful settlement of disputes, based on the will of the countries in this region,” said Xue Bing, whose appointment in February showed Beijing’s determination to get involved diplomatically in this region plagued by various conflicts, in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan in particular.
China has already had a special envoy for the Horn of Africa, in 2007, Ambassador Liu Guijin was then in charge of African affairs and immediately deployed in the midst of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
Beijing is positioning itself
Since then, China’s interests in this strategic region of the Horn of Africa have only increased. China has a port in Djibouti and its only military base in Africa to secure its enormous economic interests (transport, industry, energy, etc.). “We have learned from history that the Horn of Africa should not become the backyard of any country”, underlined the Chinese special envoy, recalling that “many had suffered” from “colonial domination”. and that “Cold War confrontations had brought the burns of war to the continent.” He called for “avoiding interference in the internal affairs of other countries” and “rejecting the abuse of unilateral sanctions”.
The United States withdrew Ethiopia from a major trade agreement, Agoa, in November because of human rights abuses committed in the context of the conflict between the government and rebels in the Tigray region since November 2020 and has imposed sanctions on Eritrea in 2021, due to its involvement in this conflict. Visiting Asmara in January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed China’s opposition to US sanctions against Eritrea, a closed country living under an authoritarian regime. Mr. Xue said he was “convinced” that the Horn of Africa has the capacity to “resolve its differences through dialogue and consultation”, although “some differences are difficult to grasp because they date back to colonial times “.
A region plagued by crises
He also announced China’s readiness to support various projects in food security, health, transport, trade promotion or skills building. “This initiative belongs, is directed, managed and piloted by the countries of the Horn, and China has only a supporting role”, underlined while opening the work Redwan Hussein, national security adviser to the Ethiopian Prime Minister. Abiya Ahmed. “These are our problems (…) and the solution (…) must come from within. The success or failure of this conference will depend on us and no one else,” he added.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last week the government wanted no more war, amid unconfirmed reports of ongoing negotiations with rival Tigray leaders, the prime minister said a government committee would present soon a roadmap on the issue. Officially, the Ethiopian government has not said whether or not it accepted China’s offer of mediation. In parallel, other mediation efforts have been pursued in recent months by the African Union, the United States and Kenya.
Another dispute could complicate the situation for the sub-region, it concerns the “great dam of the Renaissance” inaugurated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister on February 20. Worried about their water supply, Egypt and Sudan had asked Ethiopia to stop the filling of the dam which is to become the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa.
