BEIJING SUMMIT & THIRD MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF FORUM ON CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION

The State of Eritrea, located in the northernmost part of the African horn, covers an area of 120,000 square km and has a population of 4.5 million, composed of nine ethnic groups including Tigrinya and Tigre. The main religions are Christian and Muslim. English and Arabic are extensively used, and Tigre and Tigrinya are the spoken languages. The national capital is Asmara. The current president is Isaias Afwerki.

Eritrea established diplomatic ties with China on May 24, 1993, the very day when the country proclaimed independence. Since then bilateral relations have been developing smoothly. Xu Jialu, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, visited Eritrea in 2002. President Afwerki visited China in 2005. Bilateral trade reached 8.41 million U. S. dollars in 2005.