China–Comoros relations refers to the current and historical relationship between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

. China has an embassy in Moroni and the Comoros has an embassy in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Relations were established by Comorian President

Ali Soilih Ali Soilih M'Tsashiwa (; January 7, 1937 – May 29, 1978) was a Comorian socialist revolutionary and political figure who served as the third President of the Comoros from 3 January 1976 to 13 May 1978. Biography Soilih was born in Majung ...

on 13 November 1975 and have been described as "friendly and cooperative".Comoros
''

China Internet Information Center China Internet Information Center () is a state-run web portal of the People's Republic of China's State Council Information Office and the China International Communications Group. History The China Internet Information Center was launched ...

'', 10 October 2006 On 2 September of 2024, they decided to upgrade their relationship to "Strategic Partnership".

Politics

China wished to maintain contact with Comoros to counterbalance Indian and Soviet (later Russian) influence in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

.Ercolano, Vincent. "Foreign Affairs"
''A country study: Comoros''
(

Helen Chapin Metz Helen Chapin Metz (April 12, 1928 – May 13, 2011) was an American editor and Middle East analyst. Life Helen Chapin was born on April 12, 1928, in Peking, China. She was the daughter of diplomat Selden Chapin and Mary Paul Noyes. Her brother, ...

, editor).

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unite ...

(August 1994). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.'' In August 2008, a Comorian delegation visited

on a good-will visit. Together with the Chinese defense minister

Liang Guanglie Liang Guanglie ( zh , c = 梁光烈 , p = Liáng Guāngliè, also spelled as Liang Kuang-lieh; 9 December 1940 – 12 November 2024) was a Chinese general and who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2008 to 2013. Life and career ...

, and Chief of Staff of the Comoros armed forces Salimou Mohamed Amiri, pledged to increase cooperation between the military of the two nations. Amiri stated that Comoros will continue to adhere to the One-China policy. Comoros was one of 53 countries, that in June 2020, backed the

Hong Kong national security law Hong Kong national security legislation may refer to one of the following laws/bills: Laws in force * Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2020 national law of C ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Aid and trade

The two countries have an agreement for economic and technological cooperation. In 1976, China began an aid program for Comoros and has helped build a water-supply project at Nioumakélé as well as governmental buildings including the people's palace, office buildings, presidential mansions and television and broadcasting buildings among other projects. Bilateral trade totaled US$760,000 in 2002. In 2010, China was the second largest importer to Comoros after

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A comprehensive Chinese-assisted treatment campaign has apparently eliminated

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

from the Comorian island of Moheli (population 36,000) – and shows worldwide potential. The campaign is administered by

Li Guoqiao Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...

, one of the researchers who developed a Chinese herb used as treatment for malaria into

artemisinin Artemisinin () and its semisynthetic derivatives are a group of drugs used in the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum''. It was discovered in 1972 by Tu Youyou, who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for he ...

, probably the most effective antimalarial drug. The campaign is centered at the

Tropical Medicine Institute The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's axi ...

, and the program relies on

Artemisia annua ''Artemisia annua'', also known as sweet wormwood, sweet annie, sweet sagewort, annual mugwort or annual wormwood, is a common type of wormwood native to temperate Asia, but naturalized in many countries including scattered parts of North Ameri ...

of hybrid ancestry, which was used for a drug regimen by which all residents of the island, whether or not visibly ill, took two doses at a 40-day interval. This eliminated the human reservoir of the disease and reduced hospital admissions to 1% or less of January 2008 levels. Visitors to Moheli are now required to take antimalarial drugs, a mix of

primaquine Primaquine is a medication used to treat and prevent malaria and to treat ''Pneumocystis'' pneumonia. Specifically it is used for malaria due to ''Plasmodium vivax'' and '' Plasmodium ovale'' along with other medications and for prevention if ot ...

and

pyrimethamine Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic disea ...

that China provides for free. When asked about Artemisia exports, Li was quoted as saying, "We want to grow them in China and whatever we export depends on bilateral relationships." Comoros has requested a similar program for

Grande Comore Grande Comore (; ) is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which i ...

and

Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...

, total population 760,000, and Li said that Beijing has agreed in principle. In 2011, China granted Comoros 4.65 million

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s to build a new 100-bed hospital in

. Chinese ambassador

Wang Leyou Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

heralded it as "... a new step in our pragmatic cooperation of 36 years". In addition to helping the Comoran government combat malaria, Beijing has also agreed to provide $30 million in funding for the installation of a submerged fiber optic network linking Comoros to the rest of East Africa.Austin Strange, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Andreas Fuchs, Axel Dreher, and Vijaya Ramachandran. 2013. China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection. CGD Working Paper 323. Washington DC: Center for Global Development. http://aiddatachina.org/projects/403

Culture

In 1985, China and Comoros signed an "Agreement for Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Union of the Comoros". Part of the cultural exchanged included scholarships for Comorian students to study in China; as of 2006, 5 students were doing so. Eleven Chinese medical professionals were operating in Comoros as well.

References

External links

Chinese Ambassador to Comoros Attending 35th Anniversary
Forum on Chinese-African Cooperation, 1 December 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:China-Comoros relations

Politics

Aid and trade

Culture

See also

References

External links