The China Global South Project published on 9 January 2025 a commentary titled "From 1991 to Today: The Significance of the Chinese Foreign Minister's Annual Africa Tour" by Christian Geraud Neema Byamungu.
Every year since 1991, China's foreign minister has made his first overseas visit to Africa. On his current visit, Wang Yi is visiting Namibia, Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria. Each year much ink is spilled by China-Africa analysts trying to explain why the foreign minister visits the particular countries on the itinerary. The author rightly points out that these trips may simply be about normal, run-of-the-mill diplomacy and have no deeply strategic geopolitical or economically motivated explanation.
