ADDIS ABABA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- A China-Ethiopia Food Festival, showcasing a diverse array of unique cuisines, was held Thursday in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to promote cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Hosted by the Chinese construction giant China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), the festival drew hundreds of Chinese and Ethiopian visitors at the construction site of the Oromia Media Complex project in the Ethiopian capital.
Coinciding with the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on Friday this year, the event offered an extensive selection of Chinese and Ethiopian culinary varieties, including Zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped with bamboo or reed leaves. The food is a traditional delicacy that Chinese people eat on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Feng Zhenlei, project manager for the Oromia Media Complex at CSCEC Ethiopia, said the food festival offered a chance to reinforce relationships among peoples of the two countries in general and the project staff in particular as the landmark construction site approaches its completion.
"Every dish represents the friendship between China and Ethiopia. Every joint effort has laid a solid foundation for our cooperation," Feng said at the festival.
With 2026 designated as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, organizers said the event also sought to deepen Sino-Ethiopian and Sino-African cultural and people-to-people ties by fostering mutual understanding.
Deputy Head of the Oromia Urban Development and Housing Bureau Hussen Ushu said the China-Ethiopia Food Festival is "an important and exciting occasion," promoting the exchange of the two countries' rich food and cultural heritages.
Highlighting that the future Oromia Media Complex is envisaged to serve as a bridge connecting Ethiopia and the wider African continent to the rest of the world, Ushu said this "great aspiration" is effectively demonstrated by the festival through the promotion of cultural and people-to-people relations.
The CSCEC is currently finalizing construction of the media complex, with completion and handover expected soon. The Chinese company has over the years delivered several landmark projects in Ethiopia, including the 209.15-meter-tall Commercial Bank of Ethiopia headquarters, often regarded as East Africa's tallest building, as well as the iconic African Union headquarters.
The company is also widely recognized for its knowledge transfer endeavors, with young Ethiopian engineers and local construction companies often drawing inspiration from its flagship projects through capacity-building and internship initiatives.
