Ethiopian prime minister arrives in Beijing for 2024 FOCAC Summit

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali arrived in Beijing at 08:12 on Wednesday to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held in the Chinese capital from Wednesday to Friday.

Ethiopia is a landlocked country in northeast Africa. The plateau accounts for two-thirds of the country's area, with an average elevation of nearly 3,000 meters, known as the "roof of Africa".

China and Ethiopia enjoy traditional friendship. In October 2023, China and Ethiopia upgraded their relationship to an all-weather strategic partnership. Ethiopia is a member of the FOCAC and a new member of BRICS. China and Ethiopia have jointly built flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway and the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit.

Economic and technological cooperation between China and Ethiopia began in 1971, with agreements on trade and economic and technological cooperation between the two countries signed. So far, China has completed complete sets of projects for Ethiopia, including roads, veterinary stations, power stations and water supply projects.

China is Ethiopia's largest trading partner, the largest source of investment, and the largest contractor for engineering projects. In 2023, the bilateral trade volume reached 3.03 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.7 percent year on year. Ethiopia is China's largest source of sesame imports.

In 1988, the two countries signed an agreement on cultural cooperation. It has seen mutual frequent visits by cultural delegations and performing troupes. From 2022 to 2023, a total of 3,732 Ethiopian students studied in China. There are currently two Confucius Institutes in Ethiopia.

Since 1974, China has sent 26 medical teams to Ethiopia, including two relief teams. At present, there are 16 Chinese medical team members in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the first African country where young Chinese have gone to serve as volunteers and the destination country for outbound tourism groups of Chinese citizens. Ethiopian Airlines operates flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong and other places, making it the African airline with the most flights to China.

Ethiopian prime minister arrives in Beijing for 2024 FOCAC Summit

This year's "Double 11" shopping festival, China's biggest annual shopping event, has seen growing enthusiasm for trade-in programs and experience-driven products, trends that have driven youth consumption and reached even the more rural areas of the country.

In the first years after its creation in 2009, Double 11 was a frenzied spree of online consumption on Nov 11 each year. Over time, the festival has extended, evolving from a one-day shopping extravaganza into a month-long event.

Thanks to China's ongoing trade-in program for home appliances, the market for these products remains strong in November.

"During this year's Double 11, over 90 percent of county and rural areas nationwide have seen consumers participating in trade-in programs. We offer a one-stop service where consumers can get new electronic devices in exchange for their old ones," said Luo Huyi, a director for digital products at JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce platform.

For many young consumers, Double 11 has evolved beyond a simple shopping spree into an experience-driven event, providing them with an ideal opportunity to book appealing cultural and tourism services online in advance.

From historical site tours to skiing and camping, online orders for cultural travel have seen a great rise during this shopping event. Between Oct 14 and Nov 10, online transactions for tourism products grew more than eightfold compared to the same period last year. Notably, outbound travel bookings increased more than 11 times year on year, data from China’s leading online travel agency Ctrip showed.

During the shopping festival, toys that help with emotional well-being, like cute stuffed animals and creative building-block toys, have also become more popular among young consumers.

China's "Double 11" shopping festival sees trends in trade-ins, experience-driven consumption