No strings attached

Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a four-nation tour of Sub-Saharan Africa, honoring a 24-year-old tradition of Chinese foreign ministers paying their first foreign visit every year to the continent. This shows China remains committed to maintaining and developing meaningful interaction with Africa.

Wang's visit to Ethiopia, Djibouti, Ghana and Senegal will strengthen China's ties with the four countries and the continent as a whole. China has not only been advocating that the international community should intensify productive interactions with Africa, but also has set an example of how to provide African countries with development aid and help them grow stronger.

Unlike some Western countries, China does not set conditions for granting aid to African countries, because its cooperation with them is based on the principle of equality, mutual trust and reciprocity. That explains why China's presence in Africa has won widespread support.