Ethiopia Signs More Than $340m in Trade Deals With Chinese Firms
Ethiopian exporters and Chinese firms have signed trade agreements worth over $340 million to boost bilateral commerce. The deal focuses on agricultural products like coffee and sesame, with officials encouraging Ethiopian businesses to leverage China's zero-tariff arrangements.
Why it matters
This deal highlights Ethiopia's strategic effort to diversify its export markets and strengthen economic ties with China, its largest trading partner.
Ethiopian exporters and Chinese companies signed trade agreements worth more than 340 million US dollars at an Ethiopia-China business forum in Addis Ababa, as the country seeks to expand exports to the world’s second-largest economy.
More than 40 Ethiopian businesses involved in coffee, soya beans, hides and skins and sesame signed memorandums of understanding with Chinese counterparts at the business-to-business forum, according to the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations.
The forum was organised by the chamber in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia and the Commercial Development Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Chang Hui, deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade at China’s Ministry of Commerce, said Ethiopia was among the countries receiving priority in China’s foreign trade and investment engagement. Chinese importers were prepared to purchase quality Ethiopian products and build longer-term commercial relationships, he said.
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