The Horn of Africa is a highly strategic region

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi revealed on Thursday that Beijing will designate a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, signaling China's determination to play a larger role in the conflict-torn area.

The declaration came as a US envoy was about to arrive in Ethiopia.

Read more: Ethiopia; a state of insecurity

Wang is on a three-nation trip to Africa and divulged that China wishes to foster dialogue in order to tackle the region's peace and security issues.

In the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, Wang told reporters that "China will appoint a special envoy of the Chinese foreign ministry, adding that "We will continue to play even a bigger role for peace and stability in the region."

Wang's journey to Eritrea, Kenya, and Comoros follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's November tour to Africa, which was intended in part to hinder China's economic cooperation with regional countries.

It also coincides with the return to Ethiopia of Jeffrey Feltman, the United States' former special envoy for the Horn of Africa, who is scheduled to arrive in Addis Ababa today Thursday. Feltman's role in trying to garner support towards US decisions in the Horn of Africa did not work as successfully as Biden's administration intended it to, leading him to step down on Wednesday.

Last year, the US sanctioned Eritrea for its role in the Ethiopian conflict, which has killed thousands of people and caused a major humanitarian disaster.

During his visit to Eritrea on Wednesday, Wang expressed China's opposition to unilateral sanctions on the secretive state and foreign meddling in other countries' affairs under the pretext of democracy and human rights.