On January 14, Minister Zhang Wei, Deputy Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, met with Dr. Yoseph Beco, Director General of Ethiopia’s Adwa Victory Memorial.

Minister Zhang stated that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the launching ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges held at the AU headquarters last week and read out the congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping. The exchanges between museums constitute an important part of China-Africa people-to-people exchanges as well as mutual learning among civilizations. In September last year, the Chinese Mission successfully held a seminar at the Adwa Victory Memorial to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory in Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War. Taking the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity, we are willing to further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African museums, particularly with an aim of helping the younger generation clarify their direction and envision the future through drawing lessons from history.

Dr. Beco showed his excitement about the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges and expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Mission for its efforts in promoting Africa-China cultural exchanges. As a newly established museum, the Adwa Victory Memorial is eager to learn actively from Chinese counterparts and work to make it one of the most influential museums in Africa.