A view of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarter in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa. Photo: Courtesy of CCECC

The phase one of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters, a China-aided project, was completed on Wednesday, with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang - who's on a seven-day visit to Africa - and Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission chairperson, attending the ceremony. 

The facility, equipped with modern administrative, experimental and other support facilities, marks the implementation of a key project under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It's consequential for the two sides to continue fast-tracking bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) this year, analysts said.

They anticipate more BRI projects to be carried out this year in Africa to enhance infrastructure connectivity, a momentum that is in line with China's pledge in 2021 to roll out nine programs together with African countries. 

The vigor displayed in China-Africa partnership dwarfs Western investments, most of which are empty promises on paper.

Located in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa, the project has a floor space of 23,570 square meters. It has administrative offices, an emergency response center, an information center and a biological laboratory, according to a statement China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC), which undertook the project, sent to the Global Times on Wednesday. 

It is the first pan-African Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the continent, which will enhance Africa's disease prevention and monitoring competence, help it respond faster to emergencies, and fortify its public health system and capacity.

A view of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarter in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa. Photo: Courtesy of CCECC

The project's completion comes as Qin arrived in Ethiopia on Tuesday, starting his first foreign visit in Africa. It's the 33rd consecutive year that Africa has been the destination of Chinese foreign ministers' annual first overseas trip. 

Qin said at the completion ceremony the project's delivery shows the high standard of China-Africa cooperation, and that China is honoring its promise and carrying out things in an efficient and pragmatic manner.

"It is a landmark project symbolizing closer Sino-African friendship and cooperation. The project finished ahead of schedule, showing that China is fulfilling its pledges made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018," CCECC said. 

"Ethiopia is located at the center of the Horn of Africa, and it is a pilot demonstration zone for China-Africa capacity cooperation under the BRI. So the project carries special significance in BRI cooperation," He Wenping, director of the African Studies Section at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

China's BRI investment is critical to many African economies as they enter a new stage of economic growth, transitioning toward industrialization and away from excessive reliance on exporting natural resources and raw materials, analysts said. 

Qin stressed that China never make empty promise or compel people to do what they can't. And the headquarter will be transferred to African friends and operated by African Union. 

According to He, China has helped build industrial parks and boosted infrastructure connectivity in Africa, which stands in contrast to the "lip service"bythe West. 

"There are two ways of US investment in Africa. The first is to encourage private investment, and the second is to apply to US Congress. Both options have hurdles, meaning that the US' promised investment in Africa remains empty talk," He said.

China has helped build over 10,000 kilometers of rail lines in the continent since 2000, when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was initiated. China has also been the largest trading partner of Africa for 13 consecutive years, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.