Angola becomes China's largest African trade partner

Angola has become China's largest trade partner in Africa,Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said during a meeting with Angolan Prime Minister Antonio Paulo Kassoma held on January 18. China is willing to strengthen the cooperation between the two parties in fields including agriculture, infrastructure, public health and human resources, in joint efforts to cope with the challenges of the financial crisis, he added.

Chen said that bilateral trade volume between China and Angola reached 25.3 billion USD in 2008. China has earnestly implemented the eight-step package providing major assistance to Africa announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in November 2006, forgiven Angola’s matured debts equivalent to 67.38 million yuan and given Angola duty free favorable treatment on 466 categories of products. China will make full use of the opportunities offered by mechanisms such as the FOCAC and the China-Portuguese Speaking Countries Economic and Trade Forum to continue developing China-Angola bilateral economic and trade relations, encourage reputable and capable Chinese enterprises to take part in Angola's national reconstruction programs, and make more investments in Angola.

Prime Minister Kassoma spoke highly of the current China-Angola relationship and hopes to broaden the scope of cooperation with China in areas such as agricultural development and expanding investment.

Source: People's Daily Online