More details have emerged on China’s “Initiative for Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa,” the proposal made by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kenya on Jan. 6, as part of his three-nation “First Visit” tour of Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros. On Jan. 7, the Chinese Embassy in Washington posted a reprise of Wang’s announcement, which has since been reprinted in several Eastern African media, as well as the Helsinki Times.
According to the embassy statement, China’s initiative will be built on three points: Strengthening “intra-regional dialogue” to overcome security challenges; accelerating “regional revitalization” to overcome development challenges; and exploring “effective approaches to overcome governance challenges” in the region, the final point being a clear challenge to the imposition of the “one size fits all” global democratization from the U.K., U.S. and EU. Coverage of the proposals by Xinhua on Jan. 7 adds that China is further encouraging that the nations of the region hold their own peace conference, and that China’s appointment of a “special envoy” would be part of the dialogue process. https://www.chinadailyhk.com/article/255006
