People's Republic of China–Djibouti relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

. China and Djibouti established relations on January 8, 1979. China has financed a number of public works projects in Djibouti, including a stadium, the offices of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

and the People's Palace. In September 2010,

Type 920 Hospital Ship ''Daishan Dao'' is a Type 920 hospital ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy of the People's Republic of China. ''Daishan Dao'' is also known as ''Peace Ark'' during peacetime, and has received NATO reporting name Anwei class (meaning comfo ...

, also known as the "Peace Ark", visited Djibouti.

Economic development

Since the first Forum on China Africa Cooperation in 2000, Beijing has delivered $16.6 million in development finance to Djibouti.Austin Strange, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Andreas Fuchs, Axel Dreher, and Vijaya Ramachandran. 2013. China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection. CGD Working Paper 323. Washington DC: Center for Global Development. http://aiddatachina.org/projects?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search=&active_string%5B%5D=Active&country_name%5B%5D=Djibouti&scope_names%5B%5D=Official+Finance Major Chinese aid projects in Djibouti include: *$8.2 million to fund the construction of a hospital in Arta *A $2.41 million grant for construction of a new headquarters for the Djiboutian Foreign Minister *$1.75 million in

food aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

during a drought in Djibouti in 2005

Ethiopia-Djibouti Potable Water Project

In 2017, China announced the launch of a cross-border potable water project between Ethiopia and Djibouti. The project will include the installation of a 102 kilometer long pipeline to draw groundwater from the Ethiopian town of Hadagalla to be provided to the towns of Ali-Sabieh, Dikhil, Arta and

Djibouti city Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; so, Magaalada Jabuuti, french: link=no, Ville de Djibouti, ar, مدينة جيبوتي, aa, Gabuutî Magaala) is the eponymous capital of Dji ...

Military development

Support base

In 2016, construction began on a Chinese naval outpost in Djibouti. The site was slated to become China's first overseas military installation, with an estimated cost of $600 million. According to Djiboutian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the 90-acre plot would likely house only 300 Chinese troops and would require the Chinese government to pay the Djiboutian government $20 million annually for ten years with an option for an additional period of ten years.

Spaceport

In January 2023, Djibouti signed a deal with the Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group to build the first African

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

. The agreement followed a January 7th visit of a delegation from the company led by Vice President Allen Fund to meet with the Djiboutian government and Chinese Ambassador to Djibouti Hu Bin. The $1 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

project, expected to be completed in 2028, provides the Chinese company full ownership of the spaceport for 30 years, after which the facility will be handed over to Djibouti. Djibouti represents an advantageous location for orbital launches as its proximity to the

Earth's equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...

(10°

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

) and the consequential increased

rotational speed Rotational frequency (also known as rotational speed or rate of rotation) of an object Rotation around a fixed axis, rotating around an axis is the frequency of rotation of the object. Its unit is revolution per minute (rpm), cycle per second ...

requires less fuel for launches.

Human rights

In July 2019, UN ambassadors from 50 countries, including Djibouti, have signed a joint letter to the

UNHRC The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

defending China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

region. In June 2020, Djibouti was one of 53 countries that backed the

Hong Kong national security law The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Djibouti relations China, PR