On January 8, 2026, local time, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 “China-Africa Cultural Exchange Year” in Addis Ababa. In her keynote address, Wang Yi spoke highly of the achievements of cultural exchanges between China and Africa. Wang Yi said that China-Africa relations have a long history, and traditional friendship has been strong for a long time. In recent years, under the joint leadership of the two leaders, cultural exchanges between China and Africa have been brilliant and fruitful, showing vigor. We focus on youth exchanges, from building a platform for future China-Africa leaders dialogue and youth leaders' forum, to hosting a youth gala and “Tiangong Dialogue” event to build a bridge of communication for China-Africa youth exchanges. We focus on empowering talents, from actively promoting the “China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Program” to building 17 “Luban Workshops” in 15 African countries to train tens of thousands of professionals, providing solid intellectual support to help Africa's development. We shared our normal lives and promoted a large number of Chinese film and television productions such as “Mountain and Sea” and “Welcome to Mai Le Village” to thousands of households, which were widely discussed and sought after by African audiences. Furthermore, China has signed bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries in Africa. The number of African countries and regions organized by Chinese citizens as outbound travel destinations has increased to 34, and “African tours” are becoming more and more popular in China. Wang Yi said, “We are happy to see that the people of China and Africa are getting closer and closer, China-Africa cooperation is becoming more and more extensive, and the friendship between China and Africa is getting deeper and deeper. Facts have proved that peoples' exchanges are the strongest foundation of the China-Africa Friendship Building, and mutual appreciation of civilizations is the strongest source of motivation for China-Africa cooperation.

On January 8, 2026, local time, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 “China-Africa Cultural Exchange Year” in Addis Ababa. In her keynote address, Wang Yi spoke highly of the achievements of cultural exchanges between China and Africa. Wang Yi said that China-Africa relations have a long history, and traditional friendship has been strong for a long time. In recent years, under the joint leadership of the two leaders, cultural exchanges between China and Africa have been brilliant and fruitful, showing vigor. We focus on youth exchanges, from building a platform for future China-Africa leaders dialogue and youth leaders' forum, to hosting a youth gala and “Tiangong Dialogue” event to build a bridge of communication for China-Africa youth exchanges. We focus on empowering talents, from actively promoting the “China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Program” to building 17 “Luban Workshops” in 15 African countries to train tens of thousands of professionals, providing solid intellectual support to help Africa's development. We shared our normal lives and promoted a large number of Chinese film and television productions such as “Mountain and Sea” and “Welcome to Mai Le Village” to thousands of households, which were widely discussed and sought after by African audiences. Furthermore, China has signed bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries in Africa. The number of African countries and regions organized by Chinese citizens as outbound travel destinations has increased to 34, and “African tours” are becoming more and more popular in China. Wang Yi said, “We are happy to see that the people of China and Africa are getting closer and closer, China-Africa cooperation is becoming more and more extensive, and the friendship between China and Africa is getting deeper and deeper. Facts have proved that peoples' exchanges are the strongest foundation of the China-Africa Friendship Building, and mutual appreciation of civilizations is the strongest source of motivation for China-Africa cooperation.