China, Ethiopia ink agreements on economic cooperation

China and Ethiopia signed several cooperation documents Sunday after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in the East African nation earlier in the day for a visit aimed at further boosting bilateral ties.[Special coverage]

The documents, signed between the two governments after Li's talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Hailemariam Desalegn, covered such areas as economic technology, infrastructure construction and finance.

"I believe the cooperation between China and Ethiopia will bring real benefit to the two countries and two peoples," Li told reporters after witnessing the signing of the documents together with Hailemariam.

"We are willing to see Ethiopia moving fast and steadily on the track of development and make greater achievements in its efforts of poverty reduction," Li said.

For his part, Hailemariam described his country's ties with China as "strategic," and hailed the development of bilateral relations over the decades.

China is the largest developing country and Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economy in the world, he said, adding that the two countries share a "common destiny" and should work together to achieve common development.

Li arrived in Addis Ababa Sunday afternoon for a three-day official visit. He will also visit the African Union's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital and deliver a speech on Sino-African cooperation Monday.

After visiting Ethiopia, Li will travel to Nigeria, Angola and Kenya to continue his four-nation Africa tour. This is the first time for Li to visit Africa after he took office in March 2013.