Teshome Toga Chanaka, Ethiopian Ambassador to China, recently talked with China Daily website about bilateral trade and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The ambassador wanted to expand exports to China and believed Ethiopia’s high-quality products would find a ready market here. Yet the greatest challenge is to increase output, which he believed China could help as well.

Toga was particularly impressed by one project between the two sides under the Belt and Road Initiative: the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. With the Chinese-built railway, export commodities can be transported to the port of neighboring Djibouti overnight, a drastic reduction of cargo transportation time. It used to take seven days.

The investment of Chinese enterprises, especially in infrastructure construction and the manufacturing industry, has contributed to the overall development of Ethiopia. “They’re contributing to our growth of the economy (and) they’re benefiting our people on the ground,” the ambassador said in the interview.

He also talked about China’s achievements in economic growth and its significant transformation in the past 40 years and expressed his appreciation of the hard work of the Chinese people.