The team of Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia stands first among the diplomatic community competitors in the 2024 edition of the China-Ethiopia Friendship Relay Race in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on Dec. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 2024 edition of the China-Ethiopia Friendship Relay Race was held Sunday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to promote bilateral relations, road safety and healthy lifestyles.

The event drew more than 2,000 participants in eight categories, including members of the diplomatic community, financial institutions, government offices, youth clubs and Chinese companies.

According to China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which has been sponsoring the race for the last 20 years along with local partners, this year's race, covering 12 kilometers for elite athletes and six kilometers for amateurs, was held on CCCC's newly built road in the eastern part of Addis Ababa.

The Ethio Electric Sports Club emerged victorious in the men's elite category, while the Oromia Construction and Engineering Corporation Athletics Club won in the women's elite category. The Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia stood first among the diplomatic community competitors.

Wei Qiangyu, general manager of the CCCC Ethiopia Branch, told Xinhua that the relay race is a typical demonstration that CCCC is living up to its principle of discharging its social responsibility through promoting road safety and social welfare in a country where it operates.

"The main purpose of this kind of relay race is to promote road safety and create awareness of the people on quality works and safe driving," he told Xinhua in an interview.

Dagmawit Amare, general manager of Great Ethiopian Run, Ethiopia's premier event management company specializing in mass-participation running events, called for intensifying similar races to enhance the public's awareness of road safety in Ethiopia.

She said the relay race has brought Chinese and Ethiopian companies for the same purpose, fun and enjoyment, creating a bigger impact on the relations between the peoples of the two nations.

"I just came across that China has lots of road races. I think there are maybe thousands of races in a year. This shows how much the Chinese government values sports to the well-being of a community, and I am glad that they are reflecting the same here in Ethiopia as well. This is a great bonding between the two countries," Amare told Xinhua.

"The road is of high quality, meeting international standards," Mamush Dereje, one of the participants of the race, told Xinhua, noting the need to organize many similar races to raise awareness of the Ethiopian public on road safety and strengthen brotherhood between Chinese and Ethiopian peoples.

The annual event was started in 2004 when sections of the new ring road in Addis Ababa were completed, with the primary goal of promoting road safety awareness in Ethiopia, where road traffic accidents remain one of the most pressing public health problems. ■

Participants run in the 2024 edition of the China-Ethiopia Friendship Relay Race in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on Dec. 15, 2024. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)