The China-aided African Center for Disease Control (CDC) Headquarters Building Project (Phase I), a milestone project in China-Africa public health cooperation that manifests a blossoming China-Africa relationship, was officially inaugurated on January 11 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Qin Gang, Chinese Foreign Minister who is on his 5-African-country visit, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and Hu Changchun, Head of Mission of China to the African Union attended the completion ceremony.

"The Africa CDC headquarters is a flagship project of China-Africa cooperation announced by President Xi Jinping at the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018. Like the AU Conference Center, it is yet another landmark of China-Africa cooperation." Qin said.

He further reiterated that strengthening solidarity and cooperation with African countries will always be a diplomatic priority for China, and that no matter how the international environment changes, China and Africa will always be a community with a shared future. 

Mahamat expressed appreciation to China for the generous support. He said that China stands with Africa in its struggle for national independence and liberation, as well as in its efforts to accelerate development and revitalization and to participate more in international affairs. 

Sitting in the southern suburb of the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa, just miles away from the monumental China-aided African Union (AU) headquarters, the Africa CDC HQ building consists of administrative offices, an emergency response center, an information center and biological laboratories. 

With its completion, the African Union is fully equipped with a modern facility to uncover every health-related issue with its own experts and help its member states to strengthen their capacity to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks. The project is also exhilarating African public health experts and institutions as they await the much-anticipated operations of the trailblazing facility and its cutting-edge technologies.

During the construction, China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC), the Chinese company that undertook the project created a lot of jobs and provided skill training for the locals. The projects had a maximum of one thousand local workers enrolled at the peak construction season, according to the company's statement. 

Over 200 guests including ambassadors from African Union member states to Ethiopia, and representatives from Chinese companies in Ethiopia also attended the ceremony.