China's Wang Yi kicked off a four-nation, week-long Africa tour this week, marking a signature tradition for Beijing: making the continent the foreign minister's first overseas trip of the new year.
Wang visited Ethiopia and will also travel to Somalia, Tanzania, and Lesotho in southern Africa.
Ovigwe Eguegu, a Nigeria-based policy analyst for Development Reimagined, joins Eric & Cobus to discuss why these four countries made the itinerary, and what Beijing may be signaling geopolitically and economically.
📌 Topics covered include:
- Why Africa is China's first diplomatic stop in 2026
- Somalia Somaliland and great power competition
- Ethiopia debt diplomacy and AU politics
- Tanzania ports and the TAZARA railway
- Lesotho tariffs AGOA fallout and symbolism
- China positioning itself as a multilateral partner in Africa
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