InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The African Union inaugurated Saturday its new high-rise headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, built and donated by China at a cost of $200 million.
"The towering complex speaks volumes about our friendship to the African people, and testifies to our strong resolve to support African development," said Jia Qinglin, chairman of China's political advisory body, the People's Political Consultative Conference.
The sleek edifice -- Addis Ababa's tallest -- will host the African Union summit which gathers African heads of state.
"This complex is a reflection of the new Africa," said the African Union chairman, Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, at the opening ceremony. "This is a highly significant event in the life of our organisation."
The building, which towers above the Ethiopian capital, was opened ahead of the start Sunday of the pan-African body's 18th ordinary summit, a bold symbol of China's rapidly changing role in Africa.
Construction was wholly funded by the Chinese government, with even the furnishings paid for by the Asian powerhouse, and most of the construction material was imported from China.
"China is Africa's largest trading partner with $150 billion ... which amounts to 10 percent of the total of our foreign trade," Jia said.
"We have an investment stock of $13 billion in Africa, with more than 2000 Chinese companies investing," he added.
China's investment in Africa has surged in the past 15 years. Until recently, it focused mainly on bilateral relations. The new building suggests a push to foment multilateral links.
Fluttering red flags emblazoned with the slogan "Peace, Development, Cooperation" were set up around the centre, a reference to Beijing's efforts to develop a strategic China-Africa partnership.
Around a dozen African leaders attended the inauguration ahead of the two-day African Union summit focusing on intra-African trade. African countries trade more with the West and China than with themselves.
Jia handed Obiang a giant golden key to symbolise the opening of the new building, standing on the grounds where Ethiopia's oldest and infamous prison once stood.
"China, its amazing re-emergence and its commitment to win partnership is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance," said Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi.
"Over the past decades, China-Africa cooperation has gone from strength to strength. The future prospects of our partnership are even brighter," Meles added.
Construction of the new headquarters kicked off in January 2009, and a team of up to 1,200 Chinese and Ethiopian workers laboured around the clock in two or three shifts to finish it on schedule.
The site boasts three conference centres, a helipad and office space for 700 people. Its main conference hall has a sitting capacity of 2,500.
