File photos: CGTN

Located in the northeastern part of Africa, Ethiopia is popularly known as the Horn of Africa.

FACTS

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Capital: Addis Ababa

Population: 1.05 billion

Area: 1,136,000 square kilometers

Major languages: Amharic, English

Religions: Christianity, Islam, traditional faiths

Festivals: Victory of Adwa Day (March 2), Downfall of the Derg (May 28), New Year (September 11)

Currency: Ethiopian Birr

Memberships: African Union, the (East African) Intergovernmental Organization for Development, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the current rotating chairman of the (East African) Intergovernmental Development Organization

Economy

It is one of the least developed countries in the world with agriculture as the backbone of the national economy and foreign exchange earnings, accounting for about 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports account for about 24 percent of Ethiopia's exports, and its production accounts for 15 percent of world production.

Rich in water resources, it is known as the “East African Water Tower”.

The industrial development is relatively weak, and materials for production rely on imports. Its manufacturing industry is mainly supported by food, beverage, textile and leather processing. Leather is the second largest export product of Ethiopia with an annual export revenue of approximately $51 million.

With abundant tourism resources, seven relics have been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

The main economic figures for 2018 are forecast as follows:

GDP: $72.1 billion

Economic growth rate: 7.6%

Inflation rate: 13.9%

File photo of Sahle-Work Zewde. 

Political figures

Head of state: Sahle-Work Zewde

She was elected on October 25, 2018.

Prime Minister: Abiy Ahmed Ali

Relations with China  

China and Ethiopia established diplomatic relations on November 24, 1970.

2013 marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the All-round Cooperative Partnership between China and Ethiopia. On 28 March, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa.

In May 2016, Ethiopia and China signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for their partnership on a project dubbed Africa Information Super Highway, a project for cooperation between China and Africa in information and communication technology (ICT).

More than 400 Chinese investments worth over $4 billion are presently active in the East African country, creating more than 100,000 jobs for Ethiopians, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 2018.

In January 2019, Ethiopian President Zewde met with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with both sides highlighting the importance of further strengthening bilateral ties.

Ethiopia is China's largest source of sesame imports. China is Ethiopia's largest trading partner, the largest source of investment and the largest engineering contractor.