by Xinhua Writers Lyu Tianran, Wang Shoubao and Chen Chen
ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- National flags of African countries were flying along the Airport Road in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. The eight-lane road, built by a Chinese company, was decorated for the ongoing 30th African Union (AU) Summit held in the plateau city.
Above the road, a welcome sign hanging on a viaduct of the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit was greeting participants of the summit.
The electrified light rail built and operated by Chinese companies is the first light railway on the African continent with two lines of a total length of 34 km. It was 85 percent funded by China.
The project is a historic accomplishment in Ethiopia and a landmark phenomenon to the country's transportation sector in particular, said Ethiopian Minister of Transport Workneh Gebeyehu on the launching ceremony in September 2015.
"This is the fastest way to travel in the city," said 19-year-old student Abel Gezahgen aboard the light rail.
"I like Chinese, they bring development to us," he said. Outside the window, Chinese-built skyscrapers and logos of Chinese companies came into view.
The Sino-Ethiopian partnership is a comprehensive one and could be seen as "a model for the South-South cooperation," Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian told Xinhua in an interview in December.
"The relationship between Ethiopia and China is based on comprehensive, strategic and cooperative partnership in all areas and at all levels," he said.
China, Ethiopia's largest trading partner, is a major player in Ethiopia's investment, trade and diplomatic landscape.
In the past two decades alone, Chinese companies have invested close to 4 billion U.S. dollars in Ethiopia, the Ethiopia Investment Commission revealed last month.
Private Chinese firms' investment is the single largest foreign direct investment source for Ethiopia in 2017, according to the commission.
"China and Africa have excellent relations, I want the relations to continue to grow for the mutual benefits for China and Africa," said former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete after attending a side event of the AU summit at the China-funded AU headquarters.
The high-rise project consists of two main buildings, including a tower housing offices with a capacity of 700 people and a conference center equipped with facilities for top-level meetings. The grand hall of the conference boasts a capacity of 2,500, while another meeting hall accommodates 700.
Officials from the AU and its members states are meeting at the conference center for the summit, taking place from Jan. 22 to 29, under the theme of anti-corruption.
"China is one of the most important partners of Africa in all sectors, both bilaterally and multilaterally," said Abou bakr Hefny Mahmoud, Egyptian Permanent Representative to the AU, on the sidelines of the summit.
As Africa is concentrating on Agenda 2063, we hope that China will "sustain and support" the agenda, said the envoy.
A few meters outside the conference center, a Chinese-aided project dubbed the AU Integrated Services Center was under construction. It will encompass among others an accreditation facility, a cafeteria, and the AU Archives and Exhibition Center.
"We see it as yet another step in the journey of a thousand miles that we have started with the government of China, towards mutual friendship, solidarity and prosperity for the peoples of Africa and the people of China," said former chairperson of the AU Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at the groundbreaking ceremony of the project.
