Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria from January 5 to 11 at the invitation of these countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

This will be the 35th consecutive year that Chinese foreign minister visits Africa on the first overseas trip at the start of the year.

When commenting on Wang's upcoming trip, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Friday said at the regular press conference that the purpose of the visit is to implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit and deepen practical cooperation across the board for sustained and substantive growth of China-Africa relations.

She added that Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria are all China's friendly cooperation partners.