An Analysis of China–Ethiopia Relations during the Cold War

Abstract

This article analyses the bilateral relations between China and Ethiopia during the Cold War period and brings out the interplay of domestic, regional and extra-regional factors that went into the shaping of bilateral relations. China’s growing involvement and various attempts at consolidation of political and economic relationship with African countries—a relatively recent phenomenon—is perceived as a result of the dynamic interplay of economic and political factors. As with other African countries, China’s interaction with Ethiopia in the post-Cold War period is markedly different from pre-1990 years. This article investigates the political/economic factors underlying this shift. It describes and analyses the factors that led to China’s political and economic ties with Ethiopia (and Africa) during the years of Mao and Deng Xiaoping. It concludes that motivated by the desire to realise its priorities and goals, China’s venture into Africa and Ethiopia was shaped by the shift in relations between the United States (US) and China and the Cold War dynamics in the Horn that prevented any kind of consolidation of relations with Ethiopia on the one hand and regime change in Ethiopia on the other.