ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs Minata Samate Cessouma on Friday hailed the partnership with China to fight corruption.

The 30th AU summit, themed "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation", kicked off Monday at the headquarters of the pan-African bloc in Addis Ababa. It will end on Jan. 29.

"We appreciate the partnership and fruitful cooperation specifically we have with China on anti-corruption fight and we want to learn how China's anti-corruption experience has helped it ensure smooth circulation of goods and persons inside its territory," she said.

The AU has declared 2018 as the African anti-corruption year.

Africans and African countries pay high attention to the fight against corruption, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told Xinhua.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with around 180 million people, has seen corruption and financial mismanagement cripple its economic potential and help the rise of the terror group Boko Haram.

The AU estimates that every year, over 148 billion U.S. dollars -- or about 25 percent of Africa's average gross domestic product -- is drained out of the continent due to corruption, Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said at the Executive Council meeting Thursday.