Africans In China

By Andualem Sisay
The Chinese government granted scholarship for some forty-one Ethiopian students. China’s scholarships grants to Ethiopia have now reached 40 to 50 scholarships per year. Over the past years, more than 300 Ethiopian students have benefited from such scholarships.

The students who were granted scholarship to pursue their education in renowned Chinese higher education institutions received their university entrance certificates this week at a ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa.

The students who are scheduled to fly to China next month, will pursue their undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral study in fields such as civil engineering, architecture and business management.

During the certificate awarding ceremony, the Embassy’s Cultural Counselor Mr. Song Yanqun said that it is a significant step taken by the Chinese government to honor its commitments made at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

For decades China has been consistently providing educational assistance to Africa, according to the counselor. “From 2006, the Chinese government decided to boost the number of government scholarships for Africa from the then 2,000 per year to 4,000 by 2009. As a long-term cooperation partner, Ethiopia will be a major beneficiary to this initiative,” he added.

Indicating that Ethiopia has attached great importance to education and developed wide cooperation with various countries, the counselor said that his country is more than happy to contribute to Ethiopia’s educational development and has accordingly broadened the educational cooperation and exchange.

In addition to scholarships grants, the Chinese government has recently opened a vocational school in Addis Ababa to share Chinese experience and knowledge to Ethiopian professionals. The joint school, which plans to enroll 3,000 students on campus in the near future, would add teaching subjects such as architecture, bridge and road construction, and cartography to cater to Ethiopia’s needs.

Next year it would be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Ethiopian diplomatic ties. Over the recent years, the two sides enjoyed more and more common interests, reflected by frequent exchange of high-level visits, increasing political mutual trust, and fruitful achievements in the fields of culture, education, agriculture, sports, human resources.

(africanews.com)

Addis Ababa, July 20, 2009 — Belayab Enterprise, a local company is to begin the assembly of Chinese vehicles and the manufacture of conduits and electrical cables in Adama in four months, the company’s management disclosed.

Established with a capital of 136 million Br, the company expects to complete the construction of its car assembly and conduits manufacturing plant over the next four months on an 80,000hct plot six kilometers from Adama, on the road to Wenji, near the Canvass and Garment Factory, according to Wondwossen Engida, project manager of the company. The construction started four months ago.

The founders of the company, Aschalew Belay and Zenebe Belay, have deals with Foton, the Chinese vehicle manufacturer, to assemble vehicles at the plant which will be erected on 50,000hct of the 80,000hct plot, Wondwossen said. Among the first to be assembled will be pick-ups, mini buses, dump trucks, cargo trucks, with automobiles to follow in due time. The plant will also assemble small motorized agricultural equipments.

Belayab is not new to the business. At its existing facility near Kera in Addis Abeba, it has been importing and assembling heavy duty vehicles such as low-beds, loaders, back loaders, and excavators.

The conduit and insulated cable manufacturing plant will rest on the 30,000hct next to the assembly plant. Wondwossen says that the two plants could employ up to 800 people.

The construction is expected to take a total of eight months with 150 people employed on the job. Construction was interrupted recently for four days because of the shortage of cement, according to the manager. Part of the plant’s construction beyond the foundation will be done by prefabricated building parts.

(chinacartimes.com)

Addis Ababa — Chinese direct investment in Ethiopia has reached $900 million, making Ethiopia one of China’s biggest investment destinations in Africa.

According to local media reports, Chinese investments in Ethiopia are on the rise since the past three years where a number of Chinese investors started engaging in various investment opportunities in the country.

It was reported that road construction, telecommunication, medicine and other small scale enterprises are the sectors which the Chinese investors are mostly involved in.

The on going investment by the Chinese investors are being carried out by the Chinese-Africa-Development Forum, which is a Chinese government initiative which aims at promoting investment in Africa.

The Chinese government is also supporting various development projects being carried out in Ethiopia, like the on-going Tekeze Hydro-electric project and telecommunication infrastructure.

It is also reported that the trade volume of the two countries has reached $1.3 billion. For last year alone, according to the report, Chinese exports to Ethiopia increased by 51%.

It was reported that in order to balance the trade volume between the two countries, the Chinese government has given to Ethiopia quota free export opportunities for over 450 products, which Ethiopia is trying to utilize.

- APA

(ethiopianreview.com)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has signed a 1.9 billion euro deal with China to construct two hydroelectric dams with a capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts, its national electricity company said on Wednesday.

The agreement between Sino Hydro Corporation Limited and the Ethiopian Electric Power Authority (EEPA) brings the number of hydropower dams under construction in Ethiopia to seven with an aggregate total capacity of over 5,000 MW.

Eighty five percent of the project will be financed through preferential buyers’ credit and concessionary loans from China with the balance covered by Ethiopia, said Mihret Debebe, EEPA’s general manager.

Mihret said the pact that was signed on Tuesday was for the construction of Gibe IV and Halele Werabesa dams, expected to produce 2,150 MW when completed in five years.

Gibe IV is a continuation of three other hydro dams on the 325-mile (523 km) Omo river. Officials estimate that the hydropower potential of the nation — blessed with cascading rivers flowing through rugged mountains — is around 45,000 MW.

Ethiopia plans to export excess electric power to Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya, officials said.

ADDIS ABABA, (Reuters) - Ethiopia is negotiating a $400 million loan with China to fund power and road projects in the Horn of Africa nation, a state-owned news agency reported on Friday.

Investors say poor transport networks and lack of reliable power are a major hindrance for growth on the continent, which uses a third less energy per capita than the global average.
‘An Ethiopian delegation led by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development went to China to negotiate a loan of over $400 million with the Chinese government to finance road and power projects,’ the Walta Information Centre reported.

Ethiopia currently rations power.

The African Development Bank estimates that it will cost $27 billion a year to provide universal access to reliable electricity in all 53 countries by 2030.

The World Bank’s commercial arm says that the continent needs to double its infrastructure spending to boost growth.

Addis Ababa says it expects to grow by 11.2 percent in 2009. But the International Monetary Fund has predicted a growth of 6.5 percent for Ethiopia this year.

(Reporting by Barry Malone)

Uyunqimg, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC),on Tuesday met with leaders of the Ethiopian parliament to discuss bilateral relations and parliamentary exchanges.

Uyunqimg, who is leading an NPC delegation to attend the 120thAssembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), met separately with Degefi Bula, speaker of Ethiopia’s House of Federation, and Teshome Toga, speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, for talks on further cooperation between the two countries’ parliaments.

The exchange and cooperation between the two country’s legislature has enjoyed very good foundation and is part of partnership between China and Ethiopia, said Uyunqimg.

As a major African country, Ethiopia is an important partner in terms of China’s cooperation with Africa, she said.

China attaches importance to the development of the friendly and cooperative relations with Ethiopia, Uyunqimg said, expressing China’s willingness to bring such ties to a new high.

Both sides pledged to work to promote bilateral cooperation in all fields and enrich the all-round cooperative partnership between China and Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian parliament leaders thanked the Chinese side for the long-term assistance it has provided for Ethiopia’s economic development.

The April 5-10 IPU Assembly attracted over 1,000 legislators from around the world to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The delegates are scheduled to discuss the political, economic and social situation in the world with the overall theme of ” Parliaments: Building Peace, Democracy and Development in times of crisis.”
Editor: Yan
(china-wire.org)

(Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday it was cutting flights to the United States and China as the global financial crisis hit passenger numbers.

Girma Wake, chief executive officer of the airline — one of Africa’s leading carriers — said they had seen a fall in the number of incoming passengers coming from the two countries.

“Ethiopian Airlines began to feel passenger and cargo contraction in November 2008, but December 2008 was when the changes became noticeable,” he said in a statement.

Girma said the six weekly flights to the United States would be cut to four, while the number of weekly flights to China had been cut to 12 from 14. The airline hopes to boost operating revenue by more than 6 percent to $1 billion this year.

Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of Ethiopia’s gross national product. But the government has set an ambitious goal of attracting a million foreign visitors a year by 2010, quadrupling current figures.

(Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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