Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho upon invitation from January 7 to 12, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday.

Africa has been the destination for a Chinese foreign minister's first overseas trip of the year for 36 consecutive years.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will also attend the launch ceremony for the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at the African Union Headquarters, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.