African Union HQ a symbol of cooperation

Surrounded by small houses with sheet iron roofs in the plateau city of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, the African Union's new headquarters has become one of the city's most conspicuous and modern buildings.

Fully funded by the Chinese government and built by the China State Construction Engineering Corp, the $124 million building is China's largest aid project on the continent since the construction of the Zambia-Tanzania railway in the 1970s.

The project was completed at the end of 2011 and handed over in 2012.