It was the last stop on an African tour that has taken him to Egypt, Tunisia and Togo. And on 17 January, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi thanked Côte d’Ivoire for its “firm support” on the issue of Taiwan.

“We thank Côte d’Ivoire for giving us its firm support on issues affecting our vital interests, including the Taiwan question, which involves the reunification and territorial integrity of China,” he said at the end of an hour-long meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

On 13 January, voters elected Lai Ching-te as the president of Taiwan. Lai promised to protect the territory from “threats and intimidation” from Beijing. China, which considers Taiwan as its territory, has described Taiwan’s president-elect as a dangerous separatist and threatened his supporters with adverse consequences. Only 12 countries officially recognise Taiwan, including just one in Africa – Eswatini.

Chinese influence

“This win-win cooperation between China and Côte d’Ivoire has already achieved major successes, to the great benefit of the Ivorian people,” added Wang Yi, adding that he hoped to “deepen” this relationship and “contribute to the development of Côte d’Ivoire”. For his part, Ouattara echoed that he hoped to “strengthen” the “very strong political and economic relations, but also in terms of vision in the world”.

Wang Yi also heralded the opening ceremony of the 34th African Cup of Nations (AFCON) being held in the Ebimpé stadium near Abidjan – a development “built by Chinese companies”.

As is the case in various African countries, China has financed several infrastructure projects in Côte d’Ivoire in recent years, including highways, hydroelectric dams and a project to extend the port of Abidjan. China has become Côte d’Ivoire’s leading trading partner, with trade more than doubling between 2017 and 2022, from $1.85bn to $4.46bn.

Pursue independent growth

On the morning of 17 January, the head of Chinese diplomacy was in Togo, which he also thanked for its support on the Taiwan question.

“Africa must pursue its development path independently and be able to achieve collective emergence in unity and, above all, take control of its own destiny,” he said in Lomé.

On 14 January, Wang Yi was in Egypt, where he called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the creation of a State of Palestine as a full member of the UN, before travelling to Tunisia.