Sunday January 11, 2026
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his speech at the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum in Beijing, China, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
BEIJING (HOL) — China’s foreign minister said Sunday that Beijing supports Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during a phone call with Somalia’s foreign minister while on his annual New Year tour of Africa. In the statement, Wang said China opposes what it described as Somaliland’s “collusion with Taiwan authorities to seek independence.”
Somaliland is a self-declared autonomous region of Somalia that is not internationally recognized as an independent state. China has long backed Somalia’s claim to territorial unity and does not recognize Somaliland.
Wang had been scheduled to visit Somalia as part of his Africa tour, which also includes Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Lesotho, but the stop in Mogadishu was postponed due to what the Chinese Embassy described as a “schedule change.”
No new date for the visit was announced.