African leaders dismiss China's "spying" on AU

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Monday rejected a French media report that alleged China was spying on the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission speaks during closing session of the 30th African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 29, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

The French newspaper Le Monde said China had bugged the building it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012 and had been downloading data from servers in the building.

"There's nothing to be spied (on) because (the) China-Africa relationship is very strategic, comprehensive," Hailemariam said on the sidelines of the 30th AU summit held at the AU headquarters.

AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki told a press conference at the end of the summit that he did not find any sign that the AU building was being spied upon.

Calling the report "sensational", "preposterous" and "totally untrue", Kuang Weilin, head of the Chinese mission to the AU, said the AU headquarters is a very important project donated by China to support the pan-African bloc.

China's relationship with Africa and the AU will go on and be further strengthened, Kuang said.

"That is the tide of the times that one newspaper, one sensational story can't stop," he added.

Kuang also questioned the paper's intention as the article was published a day before the AU summit.