IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Beijing

FM to pay visits to African countries

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay official visits to Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal from Jan 2, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced on Friday. During his five-day trip, Wang will also visit the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Hua said. It is a diplomatic tradition that the Chinese foreign minister visits Africa as the first overseas trip of the new year.