(3 minutes read)
China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, did not respond to the new call by the African Union for getting permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council. He sidestepped this issue while addressing the press along with the AU chairperson.
Speaking at the opening of the Chinese-built headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, the Chinese foreign minister emphasized China’s partnership with Africa in security and economic development.
African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat told a joint press conference that Africa’s lack of permanent representation on the Security Council is a burning issue considering that most issues on the council agenda are related to African countries. China is one of the council’s five permanent members.
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Qin, who was appointed in December, is on his first overseas visit as foreign minister and will also visit Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt. In his interface with the press, Qin rejected the idea that China was competing in Africa with the United States. Only last month, the US sought to reassert its influence with a U.S.-Africa summit in Washington. Qin underscored that Africa needed solidarity and cooperation, not block competition. No one, he asserted, had the right to force African countries to take sides.
