Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is on his first visit to Africa since assuming office. He began his four-country tour in Ethiopia, where he visited the headquarters of the African Union. Li emphasized China's growing support for the AU, which recently became a member of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

At their meeting, the Chinese premier and African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazna Dlamini Zuma expressed their wish to further strengthen China-AU cooperation. Most importantly, they announced the establishment of a new type of bilateral China-Africa Strategic Partnership.

The strengthening of Sino-African relations will have a great impact on the European Union, which considers itself Africa's traditional partner. The establishment of CASP comes just a few weeks after an EU-Africa summit in Brussels, where the EU vowed to "give a new momentum" to its relations with Africa and to build a partnership among equals.