China's top political adviser, Jia Qinglin, was at the opening ceremony of the 18th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa yesterday to inaugurate its new, Beijing-funded headquarters there.
The US$200 million, 113-metre-high complex was built on 110,000 square metres of land provided by the Ethiopian government, according to the AU website.
'The AU Conference and Office Complex, built with China's assistance, is a symbol of our profound friendship that will go down in the history of China-Africa friendly relations,' Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said on Friday.
'Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 42 years ago ... China and Ethiopia have had fruitful exchanges and co-operation in political, economic, trade, cultural and other fields and enjoyed ever closer co-operation in international and regional affairs,' he said.
Construction of the building - which now dominates the skyline of the Ethiopian capital and is the city's tallest - began in January 2009, with some 1,200 Chinese and Ethiopian workers involved.
Most of the building materials used were imported from China and even the furnishings were paid for by Beijing, earlier reports said.
The centre will offer all the facilities of an international-standard conference centre and the AU will host key meetings there.
