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China, Ethiopia Showcase Ties Following Trump’s “Blow Up the Dam” Comment

by Eric Olander
Director-General of the Department of African Affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wu Peng, meeting with Ambassador Teshome Toga Chanaka of Ethiopia in Beijing. Image via @WuPeng_MFAChina.

There’s been a noticeable, albeit slight, increase in China-Ethiopia diplomacy and propaganda this week, prompting some speculation that Beijing may be discreetly moving to take advantage of the fall-out from last week’s furor over controversial comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

In a conversation with the Israeli and Sudanese prime ministers last week, President Trump said that Egypt may “blow up” the dam if a solution with Ethiopia can’t be achieved. Officials in Addis Ababa were furious. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. ambassador and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office denounced the president’s comments in a statement.

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