Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's upcoming African visit will jointly promote the new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said here Thursday.

The purpose of the visit is to increase mutual understanding, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and carry out the consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006, Jiang Yu said.

Yang will pay official visits to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Ethiopia from Jan. 7 to 11, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Jiang said Yang will meet with state leaders and hold talks with his counterparts of the four countries.

Trade between China and Africa surged in 2007, boosted by lower tariffs and other beneficial policies agreed on during the Beijing Summit.

Zhai Jun, Chinese assistant foreign minister, said in a recent interview that friendly cooperation between China and Africa had a "bright future."

"China and Africa have more than 50 years of friendly relations and it is an important part of China's foreign policy to consolidate and strengthen cooperation with African countries," Jiang said.