The newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who’s visiting Ethiopia as part of a week-long tour of the continent, was joined by the chairperson of African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, at the opening of the $80m (£65m) headquarters, which also built and equipped by China.

The project - which Mr Qin said was a testament to the growing relations between his country and Africa - is seen as the latest example of China’s increasing investment on the continent.

Beijing accelerated its involvement to tackle health crises after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014.

Four years later, it announced its plan to build the Africa CDC headquarters.

The agency led the continent's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.