Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has postponed a planned visit to Somalia during his annual New Year tour of Africa, Somali officials said on Friday, delaying what would have been Beijing’s first such stop in the country since the 1980s.
Somalia’s foreign affairs ministry stated it would provide the reason for the postponement and announce a revised schedule later. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial itinerary listed the Somalia visit as part of a Jan. 7–12 tour of Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, and Lesotho. Beijing notes that Africa has served as the destination for the Chinese foreign minister’s first overseas trip of the year for 36 consecutive years.
Wang began the trip in Ethiopia and met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday, calling for deeper cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, green industries, and the digital economy.
He arrived in Dar es Salaam on Friday for a two-day working visit, Tanzania’s foreign ministry said, and he plans to travel on to Lesotho before the tour concludes on Jan. 12.
The itinerary focuses on strategic trade access across East and Southern Africa, as Beijing seeks to strengthen critical shipping routes and resource supply lines.
Somaliland context
Somali officials said they expected the visit to give Mogadishu a diplomatic lift after Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland — the northern region that declared independence in 1991 — as an independent state.
Somaliland has built its own institutions and maintained relative stability compared with much of southern Somalia, but it lacks formal recognition from other UN member states.
China has criticised Israel’s decision. At a Dec. 29 briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing “expresses grave concern” and supports Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, describing Somaliland as an inalienable part of Somalia’s territory.
Lin asserted that Somalis must resolve the Somaliland issue internally, and he urged countries outside the region to stop what he called unwarranted interference.
Somalia is also managing strained ties with Washington after the United States said it would pause assistance to the Somali government amid a dispute over the demolition of a World Food Programme warehouse at the Mogadishu port and allegations of aid diversion. Somalia has denied wrongdoing.
Somali officials said they still expect Wang’s visit to Somalia to take place at a later date, but did not provide a timeline.
