On Monday, July 17th, the Algerian President made a visit to Beijing upon the invitation of his Chinese counterpart. Economy, BRICS candidacy, diplomacy… With less than a year and a half left until the presidential election, Abdelmadjid Tebboune attempted to portray Algeria as assertive.
Accompanied by around ten ministers and business leaders, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune embarked on a five-day visit to China from Monday, July 17th, to Friday, July 21st. Upon taking office in 2019, President Tebboune had made no secret of his desire to restore his country’s influence and mark Algeria’s return to the international stage.
At the end of his visit, President Tebboune granted an interview to the Chinese channel CCTV. He explained the reasons behind his country’s decision to deepen relations with China. “Algeria is to Africa what China is to the world. We too started from nothing,” he asserted, as cited by TSA.
According to him, China’s policy is devoid of “hidden motives” and is driven solely by the desire to “help those who ask for it.” “We want to cooperate with China because it is a great country with enormous resources and respects others.”
The Algerian President believes that China “does not impose conditions” and has no intention of imposing hegemony, a fact of which African nations are aware. He also expressed “great confidence in the wisdom of President Xi Jinping,” emphasizing that currently, “nothing is done in the world without China.”
