Double-digit economic growth for over ten years in a row, industrial parks springing up everywhere, brand new urban light rail convenient and fast, endless stream of traffic, wind power plants stretching as far as the eye can reach, and massive hydroelectric dams - these modern symbols seem to be irrelevant to the impoverished, disease-ridden Africa in people's imagination, but they are truly happening in Ethiopia, the cradle of mankind, birthplace of coffee and Olympic marathon champions. Last December, when Chinese President Xi Jinping joined African state leaders at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the whole world was following closely the African continent that is full of hope. Ethiopia is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling pearls on the thriving continent. With its long and glorious history, Ethiopia has in the recent years come alive with new vitality, embarking firmly on the road of national revival.
Ethiopia Up Close
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is situated in the east of the African continent, in the center of the Horn of Africa. Occupying a total area of 1,103,600 square kilometers, Ethiopia is the tenth largest country in Africa. With many mountains and plateaus, it averages about 3,000 meters above the sea level and is known as the “roof of Africa”. Ethiopia is also rich in water resources, with rivers and lakes crisscrossing its territory, earning a name as the water tower of Africa. The world-famous Great Rift Valley runs through the middle of the country, and the Blue Nile has its source from here. Aside from two chartered cities --the capital city of Addis Ababa and commercial city of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia has a total of nine ethnically-based regional states.
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, with a population of over 96 million, 64 percent of which are below the age of 25, promising great potential for human resource development. The country's population is highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups, mainly Oromo, Amhara and the Tigrayan. Some 45 percent of Ethiopia's residents are Orthodox worshippers, while another 40 percent are Muslims. For thousands of years, different ethnic groups with different religions are living in harmony with one another on this beautiful land.
Ethiopia has rich tourism resources, from the rock-hewn Church of Saint George in Lalibela, the Obelisk of Axum, to royal castles in Gondar, to Simien Mountains National Park, many being UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2015, Ethiopia was awarded jointly by UNESCO and the European Council on Tourism and Trade as the World's Best Tourism Destination.
Long and Glorious History
The National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa preserves Lucy, a fossilized hominid unearthed in 1974. The Lucy specimen is dated to about 3.2 million years ago. It is considered to be the first upright walking hominin, the earliest ancestor of humans known so far. The discovery reveals the extraordinary history of Ethiopia, which, like China, is also a country with an ancient civilization. Ethiopia has 3,000 years of uninterrupted glorious history, with its own calendar, languages and writing system. In the second century AD, Ethiopians established on the Tigray plateau an independent Kingdom of Aksum. With the passage of time, Ethiopians have been living on this land for generations.
What makes Ethiopians extremely proud is the fact that in the face of several waves of colonialism and invasions in their history, the people of Ethiopia have sustained their national independence through arduous struggles.
In 1895, Italy invaded Ethiopia. Under the leadership of Menelik II, the Ethiopians fought bravely and defeated completely the Italian armed forces at the Battle of Adowa in March 1896, forcing Italy to recognize Ethiopia's sovereignty and independence. Ethiopia hence became the only country on the African continent that kept its independence in the face of imperialist aggression. The monumental battle of the weak triumphing over the strong is of great significance both in the history of Africa and that of the world. It was also Africa's biggest victory over Europe since the Battle of Ksar El Kebir in 1578, also known as the Battle of Three Kings, which ended with Portuguese King Sebastian I dying in Makhazen River in Morocco. March 2 has been designated as Victory at Adwa Day, a public holiday in Ethiopia.
During the Second World War, the Italian fascists invaded Ethiopia. Civilians and soldiers in Ethiopia were united in their resistance, led by Haile Selassie I,the Emperor, who fired light anti-aircraft guns himself at Italian aircraft. Although Ethiopia was briefly occupied by Italy due to disparity in strength between the two sides, five years later Ethiopia was recovered with the help of the patriotic resistance forces. Ethiopia once again defeated Italy in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. As a result, on September 3, 2015, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was one of the three African leaders invited to attend in China the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of victory of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War.
Miracle of Rapid Development
Ethiopia still falls into the “least developed countries” category according to the United Nations criteria. But in recent years, the East African country has made remarkable achievements in economic construction and social development. Statistics from the World Bank show that between 2004 and 2014, Ethiopia had an average GDP growth as high as 10.9 percent per year, ranking among the world's top ten countries with the fastest economic growth. In 2014, against the backdrops of global economic recession, Ethiopia still led the world with a 10.3 percent growth.
It is one of the few African countries which have achieved the Millennium Development Goal of cutting in half its poverty population from 63 percent in 1995 to 37 percent in 2011. Its elementary school enrollment rate rose from 26 percent in 1995 to 95 percent in 2013.
It is nothing short of “miracle” for Ethiopia, a country not rich in energy resources, to have kept a double-digit GDP growth for years in a row. The leadership of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) should take the credit for that. Since it came to power after overthrowing the Mengistu military government in 1991, the party has implemented the development strategy that centers round economic construction and gives priority to agriculture and infrastructure, striving hard to make the transition towards market economy, helping the country's economy to achieve fairly fast development.
The EPRDF has won the past general elections with absolute majority, safeguarding forcefully the country's political stability, and leading Ethiopia in formulating and implementing a long term development plan. In the new millennium, the ruling party has led the government to carry out vigorously the program of sustainable development and poverty reduction, through revising investment and immigration policy, lowering export tax and bank interests, strengthening capacity building, and promoting vocational training, hence driving the national development.
Since 2005, the government has implemented an agriculture-led industrial development strategy, increasing the input in agriculture, developing new industries, export-oriented industries, tourism and aviation industry, attracting foreign investment to the exploitation of Ethiopia's energy and mineral resources. In 2010, after its victory in the multi-party parliamentary election, the EPRDF set about formulating and implementing the new five-year “economic growth and transition program”, reinforcing infrastructure construction such as hydro-electric stations and railways, with much progress.
Stable political situation, correct development path, strong executive force and hard-working people, all these factors give the international society confidence in Ethiopia's development prospects. The World Bank speaks highly of Ethiopia's economic growth model, saying that if the current strong development momentum is sustained, the country could achieve its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2025. Carlos Lopes, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, commented on the prospects of Africa's major economies during a recent interview, predicting that by 2050, Ethiopia will be the country with the best economic performance in Africa.
Since I took office as ambassador in Ethiopia, I've had extensive contacts and exchanges with Ethiopian people from all walks of life. I'm deeply impressed that every Ethiopian has a strong wish for the country's development, as well as an “Ethiopian Dream” for national revival and a prosperous motherland. I'm delighted to see that every Ethiopian is making unremitting endeavor towards this goal.
The road to development is never plain sailing. Ethiopia has not only tasted the joy of rapid economic development, but is also faced with more and more of the “growing pains”. A large number of huge infrastructure construction projects have given the government increasing debt burdens. As more and more foreign investment comes to Ethiopia, business environment seems to have more room to improve. Imbalanced development also brought about some conflicts among different ethnic groups and regions. There is also an undercurrent of forces attempting to undermine peace and stability from home and abroad…
Stronger China-Ethiopia Ties
China-Ethiopia friendship has a long history. More than 50 years ago, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai chose Ethiopia during his first visit to Africa, opening a new chapter in bilateral times. It is also a much-told story as the two countries had not even established diplomatic relations at that time. Since China and Ethiopia started a Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership in 2003, bilateral relations in political, economic and social spheres have developed rapidly, with deepening and expanding exchanges and cooperation. The two sides have always attached great importance to bilateral ties, viewing the other as priority and strategic choice in each country's foreign policies.
Between 2003 and 2015, bilateral trade had grown over 25 times. Now China is Ethiopia's No. 1 trade partner, direct investment source country and project contractor. Chinese investment covers manufacturing, construction, agriculture, garment manufacture, automobile assembly, cement and glass production. In the field of infrastructure, Chinese enterprises have participated in the construction of over 90 percent of Ethiopia's highway, its national telecommunication networks, its first electric railway, first enclosed expressway, first urban light rail, first wind farm and several major hydroelectric stations.
The Chinese government completed last year the planning and design of The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road initiative, also known as the One Belt One Road, and actively carried out international cooperation on production capacity. Ethiopia also plays a very important role in this great strategic vision of China. At present, Ethiopia is enhancing its strategic tie-in with China, in a bid to build itself into the East Africa gateway for One Belt One Road. China, in the meantime, deems Ethiopia a model country in pioneering China-Africa production capacity cooperation, and bridgehead and testing grounds for Chinese products, equipment, technology, standard, investment and services in Africa.
As the ancient Chinese saying goes, “Amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states.” China-Ethiopia cultural and people-to-people exchanges are rich and diverse, just like the flowers in the street of Addis Ababa, blossoming one after another. With two Confucius Institutes opening their doors in Ethiopia, Chinese learning is more and more common. Meanwhile, Amharic, Ethiopia's official language, has formally entered the classrooms of Beijing Foreign Languages University.
At present, Ethiopia has embassy or consulate in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, all major cities in China, well ahead other African countries in the number of diplomatic missions. Ethiopian Airlines now has 28 weekly flights to China, between Addis Ababa and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Addis Ababa, the capital city, has become the biggest transport hub connecting China and Africa. In December 2015, China-Ethiopia agreement on mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and service passport holders took effect. These tangible results of cooperation serve as a bridge for communication to deepen the friendship between the two peoples, leading to better understanding and trust.
China and Ethiopia, two countries of ancient civilization, have gained great vigor and vitality in the new era, creating miracle after miracle of their own. It is my belief that the two countries will advance hand in hand in glory.
By H.E. Mr. La Yifan, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia