Ambassador Hailekiros Gesesse in an interview he gave to ENA on Wednesday said the diplomatic relation between Ethiopia and China is based on mutual benefits.

The diplomatic relation between the two countries that is established on firm foundation dates back to several years, he added.

Ambassador Hailekiros further said that the political relation between the two countries, which is based on non interference and mutual respect, is stepping up from time to time.

The political relation the two countries are enjoying at present is primarily based on the principles of the South-South cooperation that is targeted at resolving problems of the countries with common efforts.

The two day official visit Chinese foreign Minister Yang Jiechi recently paid to Ethiopian has the objective of further cementing the existing god relation between the two countries.

China has allowed 19 types of Ethiopian agricultural products to enter to the Chinese market with out tariff, Ambassador Hailekiros said and dubbed the measure an indicator of Chinese positive attitude and its genuine development partnership to Ethiopia and the African continent.

The Chinese government is encouraging and offering various incentives to Chinese investors to convince them invest in Ethiopia, he added.

China during the China-Africa Cooperation forum had established the China-Africa Development Fund that is benefiting African countries including Ethiopia.

Since China is a country that is registering impressive economic development the technologies it is employing are could have due contribution for the agriculture led industrial development policy Ethiopia is implementing, Ambassador Hailekiros said.

In this regard, Ambassador Hailekiros said, China has recently reached an agreement to establish an agriculture technologies research center in Ethiopia.

In the financial sector, Ethiopia is obtaining a considerable amount of soft loan from China, he noted.

The trade exchange balance between the two countries is towards China so far, he said, and added that the investment activities the Chinese investors carry out in Ethiopia is believed to have contribution in maintaining the trade balance.

Several Chinese investors are currently implementing investment projects worth billions of USD in Ethiopia in various sectors. The investment projects run by the Chinese investors have created thousands of jobs for Ethiopians.

ZTE a Chinese company alone has invested about 1.5 billion USD in Ethiopia in the telecom sector.

Ethiopia is making wide ranging activities aimed at expanding the trade relation between the two countries, he noted.

China is recruiting Chinese volunteers that would provide capacity building assistance in Ethiopia in various sectors.

More than 50 Ethiopians went to China for higher education over the past Ethiopian year alone, Ambassador Hailekiros said.

R--2:44-3:32 Pm

E--3:32-3:57

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