China–Eritrea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between China and Eritrea. Eritrea gained independence from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1993 and, as of 2007, relations between the two states registered "smooth growth".

Prior to independence

China supported the Eritrean independence movement through the

Eritrean Liberation Front ar, جبهة التحرير الإريترية it, Fronte di Liberazione Eritreo , war = the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean Civil Wars , image = , caption = Flag of the ELF ...

and later the

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...

. Beginning in 1967, today's Eritrean President

Isaias Afewerki Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in ...

received military training in China.

Diplomatic relations

The People's Republic of China of Eritrea established diplomatic relations on May 24, 1993.

Human rights

In June 2020, Eritrea was one of 53 countries who 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 security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Economic relations

Eritrea borrowed $3 million in 1994 to buy Chinese agricultural machinery. In 2001, China canceled Eritrea's debt by granting Eritrea a grant for the same amount. China has financed a number of development projects, including a 200-bed hospital in the Eritrean capital of Asmara.ERITREA: China cancels debt
IRIN News, June 18, 2001 In April 2006, China granted Eritrea a loan of $23 million to improve communication infrastructure.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/564 In January 2007, China and Eritrea signed economic deals, which included the removal of tariffs on Eritrean products imported to China, the partial cancellation of Eritrea's debt to China and an extension of Chinese technical assistance to Eritrea, particularly in the health sector.
EritreaDaily.net, January 7, 2007

Visits

In 2001, Chinese vice-minister for foreign trade and economic cooperation, Zhou Keren, visited Eritrea on a 3-day visit. In early 2007, Chinese foreign minister

Li Zhaoxing Li Zhaoxing (; born 20 October 1940 in Jiaonan, Qingdao, Shandong) is a Chinese diplomat and politician. He served as the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2007. He graduated from Peking University in 1964. He ...

visited the country as part of a tour of Africa. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi traveled to Asmara on January 4-5, 2022. The Chinese FM met with Eritrean foreign minister and President of Eritrea at the State House in Asmara. Eritrea in 2021 signed an agreement on the BRI. Both countries in 2022 agree to a massive economic development deal, the first in Eritrea. Eritrean President visited China on an official state visit in spring of 2023. Eritrean & Chinese leaders held talks. Eritrean President visited corporate infrastructure companies and investment firms.

References