On January 28, 2010, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met with special envoy of the Chinese government Zhai Jun, also Vice Foreign Minister, who is in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for the 14th African Union (AU) summit.

Zhai said that China and Ethiopia enjoy profound traditional friendship. Bilateral cooperation in various fields had grown steadily and made remarkable results over recent years. This year marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ethiopia, noted Zhai. China was ready to strengthen cooperation with Ethiopia and would strive to bring China-Ethiopia friendly cooperative ties to a new high, he said. The Chinese government attached great importance to the implementation of follow-up actions of the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Zhai said. Meanwhile, China would continue to maintain close communication with Ethiopia, and would step up its efforts in carrying out the eight-measure policy designed to enhance substantial cooperation with Africa so as to bring benefits to Chinese and African people, he noted. On behalf of the Chinese government, Zhai also extended condolences to the government and people of Ethiopia over this week's Ethiopian Airlines crash in the Mediterranean.

Zenawi spoke highly of China-Ethiopia relations, saying China had played an important role in Ethiopia's national construction. Ethiopia-China cooperation can serve as a role model for China-Africa friendly cooperation. Through its cooperation with Africa, China aimed to build up the independent development capacity of Africa, said Zenawi, stressing that China's economic growth and China-Africa cooperation had brought many benefits to Africa. The successful fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is widely applauded by African countries and the international community. The African side looks forward to well implementing the outcome of the meeting with the Chinese side.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues of common concern such as climate change.