AU Representative to China Alhaji Sarjoh Bah Visits the ICC

On 21 January 2026, the new Representative of the African Union (AU) to China, H.E. Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, paid a visit to the Jianguomen Office of the International Cooperation Center (ICC). Zhang Yu, Convener of the Joint Meeting and Director of the Steering Committee of the ICC, met with Ambassador Bah, and the two sides visited the historical materials at the ICC exhibition room. Both sides noted that 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries and the 23rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the AU. The ninth China-AU Strategic Dialogue was recently held between the Chinese government and the AU Commission. In an in-depth exchanges, the two sides reached important consensus on deepening high-level bilateral exchanges and strategic communication, establishing a long-term "track 1.5" dialogue and consultation mechanism between the ICC and the AU Commission, and strengthening coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs.

The meeting for exchange

In November 2025, Ambassador Bah, who had assumed his post in China, attended and delivered a speech at the International Dialogue on "Transformation and Future of Global Governance" in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, co-hosted by the UN System in China and the ICC. The ICC and the AU Mission to China are committed to further enhancing the strategic nature, exemplary effect and practical results of China-AU relations, and giving play to the role of the "track 1.5" dialogue and consultation mechanism and strategic coordination between the two sides in advancing China-AU relations and the overall China-Africa relations. Present at the meeting were Zhu Hongshan, Economic Affairs Representative of the ICC; Cheng Yu, Executive Secretary-General of the ICC; Zhang Bin, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Working Committee at the ICC; Wu Zhonglin, Executive Director of the Development Committee at the ICC; Ethel Nuwagaba, Finance and Administration Officer of the AU Mission to China; and Chang Junling, Secretary of the AU Representative to China, among other officials.

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The African Union (AU) is a pan-African political entity integrating politics, economy and military affairs, consisting of 55 African member states with its headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It was preceded by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), founded in 1963. The transformation process was initiated with the adoption of the Sirte Declaration in 1999, and the AU was officially established on July 9, 2002. The AU aims to promote Africa's political and economic integration, safeguard peace and security, advance democracy, human rights and sustainable development, with the ultimate goal of establishing the United States of Africa. Its core institutions include the Assembly of the Union (the supreme decision-making body), the Executive Council, the AU Commission (the permanent administrative body), the Pan-African Parliament, and the Peace and Security Council. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola, assumed the rotating chairmanship of the AU in February 2025. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, took office as Chairperson of the AU Commission in March 2025.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the first-generation leaders of the People's Republic of China, such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, and the older generation of African statesmen jointly opened a new era of China-Africa relations. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries and the 23rd anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and the AU. Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent congratulatory messages to the AU Summit for 13 consecutive years, which fully demonstrates China's high importance attached to developing relations with the AU. As the world undergoes changes unseen in a century, the Global South, represented by China and Africa, is thriving and exerting a profound impact on the course of world history. China and Africa account for one-third of the world's total population. As the world's largest developing country and the continent with the most concentrated developing countries respectively, China and Africa share a common history of opposing colonialism and hegemonism and a common mission of pursuing development and rejuvenation. They are natural members and backbone forces of the Global South. For the 36th consecutive year, China's Foreign Minister has chosen Africa for the first overseas visit of the new year. On January 8, 2026, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, held the 9th China-AU Strategic Dialogue with Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. The two sides issued the Joint Press Communiqué of the China-AU Strategic Dialogue.