On August 25, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen at the latter's request.

Wang Yi said, China and Ethiopia are each other's comprehensive strategic cooperative partners, and bilateral relations have gone through tests and become stronger over time. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have helped each other and deepened our friendship. China is ready to continue close coordination and cooperation with Ethiopia in international affairs and safeguard the common interests of the two countries and other developing countries.

Wang Yi said that a new session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held soon to review the tremendous progress made in China-Africa cooperation over the past three years, and look forward to the next three years and plan the vision of cooperation. We hope to take this opportunity to strengthen practical cooperation with Ethiopia in various fields and inject new impetus into China-Africa cooperation.

After listening to Demeke's introduction on the current domestic situation in Ethiopia, Wang Yi said that China firmly supports Ethiopia's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and independence, believes that the Ethiopian government has the capacity and wisdom to properly handle its internal affairs, and will continue to support the Ethiopian people in realizing national peace, stability, development and prosperity. China will adhere to its consistent position and oppose external forces interfering in Ethiopia's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. China hopes that the international community will support the position of the Ethiopian federal government on realizing a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, and effectively promoting its national reconciliation.

Wang Yi said that the United States is now trying to defame China in order to shift its responsibility for failure in fighting the pandemic at home. In particular, the U.S. intelligence community is speeding up the fabrication of a so-called origins tracing report in a bid to pin the blame on China. We believe that the international community, including Ethiopia, will see through the nature of the U.S. move, continue to take an objective and just position, clearly oppose the malicious attempt to politicize COVID-19 origins tracing, and jointly maintain the sound momentum of international solidarity against the pandemic.

Demeke appreciated China's strong support to his country in fighting against the virus, saying Ethiopia is committed to advancing the Ethiopia-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level. Ethiopia, like China, firmly opposes Western interference in other countries' internal affairs under the excuse of human rights. The Ethiopian side believes that origins tracing should not be politicized and must be carried out with a scientific attitude and method. Ethiopia is looking forward to the new session of the FOCAC, and will make full use of the platform and continue to inject more content into the development of bilateral relations.

The two sides also exchanged views on other issues of common concern.