On October 29, 2026, Special Envoy for Horn of Africa Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Hu Changchun attended and addressed the opening ceremony of the 2026 Training Workshop for Think Tank Scholars from the Horn of Africa Countries in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Officials from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and Sichuan Normal University attended the ceremony.

Special Envoy Hu Changchun stated that the training workshop aims to exchange ideas and build consensus on strengthening cooperation between China and Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa region, in the fields of security, development and governance. He expressed the hope that the African participants will gain a more authentic, multi-dimensional and comprehensive understanding of China through the workshop, and make new contributions to building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

The 2026 Training Workshop for Think Tank Scholars from the Horn of Africa Countries invited representatives from mainstream think tanks and media of Horn of Africa countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Somalia and South Sudan. In addition to Sichuan, the participants will also visit and exchange views in Xinjiang.