China FM Skips Historic Somalia Visit, Lands in Tanzania

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Dar es Salaam on January 9, 2025 for a two-day visit to Tanzania. Image via Tanzania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi skipped what would have been a historic visit to Somalia on Friday, instead proceeding straight to Tanzania on his tour of African countries.

The visit would have been the first by a Chinese foreign minister to Somalia since the state collapsed in 1991. It had been planned at a high-profile moment just after Israel recognised the breakaway region of Somaliland.

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