China's support for Eritrea

On Monday, May 15, an authoritative visit to Beijing of president Eritrea Isajas Afewerki took place. The talks announced the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Asmara on May 24.

President Xi Jinping announced a further long-term strengthening of China's strategical partnership with Eritrea to strengthen regional peace and global justice. He commended Asmara's attachment to independent abroad policy, following the improvement way set by national conditions, declared his support for Eritrea's sovereignty, safety and improvement interests, and besides condemned US interference in Eritrea's interior affairs and the imposition of sanctions on it by Washington.

China's president announced that Eritrea should share its experience in governance technology, that it should be jointly opposed to uniterialism and intimidation by the US, and that bilaterally it should cooperate in formats specified as the Belt and way Initiative, the Forum for Chinese-African Cooperation, and the Perspectives of Peace and improvement in the Horn of Africa. Cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, telecommunications, agriculture, mining, fishing, China is to proceed to send medical and agricultural experts to Eritrea.

The trade with Eritrea has a formal negative balance for China, which is explained by China's exports of minerals mined in Eritrea. In 2021, Chinese exports to Eritrea amounted to US$69.9 million and mainly included commercial vehicles (8.66 million USD), tyres (7.53 million USD), automobile engines and their parts and accessories (2.86 million USD). In the same year, Eritrea's exports to China amounted to USD 352 million and mainly included copper ore (194 million USD) and zinc ore (158 million USD), so these were the natural materials mined by the Chinese in Eritrea.

In March 2023, exports from China to Eritrea amounted to USD 5.45 million (phones were crucial – USD 975,000), import was USD 40.5 million. Year-on-year Chinese exports to Eritrea increased by 51.4% in March and imports decreased by 44.1%. Chinese exports to Eritrea come mainly from Shanghai state (US$2.23 million), Shantung state (US$1.05 million), and Guangong state (US$750 thousand).

President Isajas Afewerki stressed that the Eritrean people would never forget China's support for Eritrea's independence. Commenting on these words for the Global Times portal, the Chinese expert recalled that I. Afewerki had conducted political-military training in China in 1967. The closeness of Asmara and Beijing is besides supported by the fact that this first 21 March, together with the Ministry of abroad Affairs of Ethiopia, rejected US accusations of erythtrean and Ethiopian war crimes committed by the Ethiopian armies during the fighting in the Tigraj region. In November 2021 Asmara condemned US sanctions against Eritrean military and government officers.

Eritrea's importance to China is based primarily on its position. Eritrea is the most northeastmost part of East Africa and the Horn of Africa, bordering Ethiopia to the south, Sudan to the west, and to the north from Djibouti, where the only overseas military base of China is located so far – formally stationed forces are intended to fight piracy, in practice they are the second, alongside the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, the Chinese strategical base in the Indian Ocean. Eritrea besides has an exit to the Red Sea – to Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which is why Israeli and Russian penetration has been speculated in fresh years.

Ronald Lasecki