Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi kicked off his official tour of five African nations and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, aiming to cement China's strategic partnership with Africa, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tuesday.

"At the beginning of every year, China's foreign minister pays a visit to Africa. This is a good tradition that dates back 20 years," spokesperson Jiang Yu told a regular press briefing.

Yang arrived in the Maldives Tuesday. Yang's tour of Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Morocco will last from Jan. 6 to 12, and then he will visit Saudi Arabia on Jan. 12 and 13, said Jiang.

"China and Africa have worked together to build a new strategic partnership, featuring political equality and mutual trust, mutually beneficial economic cooperation and cultural exchanges," said Jiang.

During the fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Egypt in November, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced eight new measures to push forward the new China-Africa strategic partnership, said Jiang.

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