FM Yang to set off on tour of Africa

BEIJING - Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi kicks off his Africa trip on Wednesday, continuing the more than two-decade-long tradition of China's top diplomat visiting the continent around the start of year.

Yang will arrive in Zimbabwe on Thursday to deepen ties between Beijing and the southern African nation that China solidly backed in its fight for independence.

The week-long tour will later take the minister to Gabon, Chad, Guinea and Togo, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).