Next week will see Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visit Africa and Asia, and the United States mark the first anniversary of the January 6 riot on the Capitol.

Wang Yi visits Africa, Asia

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros from January 4 to 7, and then Maldives and Sri Lanka.

His visit to the three countries in Africa follows Chinese foreign ministers' tradition of choosing Africa for their first overseas visit every year for the 32nd consecutive time.

"It demonstrates the great importance China attaches to its traditional friendship with Africa and the development of China-Africa relations," said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, when announcing the trip on Thursday.

U.S. marks Capitol riot anniversary

The United States will mark the first anniversary of the riot on January 6, 2021, when supporters of then U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building and clashed with police, leaving five people dead and many others injured.

Trump has said he will hold a news conference on the day while U.S. President Joe Biden is expected make a public statement.

The riot against an orderly transition of presidential power is widely seen as one of the most far-reaching domestic extreme events in U.S. history.

Day by day:

Monday: Oath-taking ceremony for the members of seventh-term Legislative Council of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; 2nd anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. airstrike.

Tuesday: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to visit Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros (to Friday); 74th anniversary of Myanmar's independence.

Wednesday: A quiet day in politics.

Thursday: First anniversary of January 6 riot on U.S. Capitol; French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes the president of the European Commission Ursula van der Leyen and the European commissioners in Paris, to mark the beginning of the 6-month French presidency of the European Union; High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell visits Ukraine; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida departs for Sydney, Australia to meet his counterpart Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Friday: Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen visits Myanmar (to Saturday).

Saturday: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on an official visit to Sri Lanka (to Sunday).

Sunday: A quiet day in politics.