Foreign Minister Wang Yi's tour of the continent's east and south will bring him to Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho, concluding on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

The visits are in keeping with Chinese diplomatic convention of recent decades, whereby the foreign minister's first overseas trip of the year is to Africa.

The current tour "aims to deepen political mutual trust with all parties... (and) strengthen exchanges and mutual learning", foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday at a regular news conference.

China is Africa's top business partner, with trade reaching $296 billion in 2024, according to Chinese state media.

Beijing has sent hundreds of thousands of workers and engineers to the continent and gained strategic access to its vast mineral riches including copper, gold and lithium.

Wang's visit to Somalia underlines China's support for the impoverished Horn of Africa country, which condemned a trip this week by Israel's foreign minister to the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Beijing's foreign ministry has said it is "firmly against" the December 26 recognition of Somaliland by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wang will then visit Tanzania, where more than 1,000 were reportedly killed by security forces during and after an election in October in which all the main opposition candidates were disqualified.

Lesotho, the final country on Wang's tour, saw protests last year in response to massive job losses caused by US-imposed tariffs on exports.