Angolan President João Lourenço has highlighted the success of several landmark projects supported by China that are currently under construction.
During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Luanda, Lourenço said Angola and China have always been united, trusted each other and had good cooperation.
He noted that a number of landmark projects supported by China, including airports, hydro-power stations, roads and ports, are being conducted in Angola, “playing an indispensable role in Angola’s post-war reconstruction and economic and social development”.
“Chinese enterprises have made positive contributions to the improvement of infrastructure and people’s livelihood in Angola, which expects to deepen cooperation with China and will welcome more Chinese investment,” according to a statement from the Chinese government.
Qin said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations 40 years ago, China and Angola have always been sincere and friendly towards each other and worked for hand in hand.
Political mutual trust and traditional friendship between China and Angola have been deepened, and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, highlighted Qin.
“China is ready to work with Angola to implement the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state and upgrade pragmatic cooperation, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples,” a statement from the Chinese government said.
Qin said that China appreciates Angola’s active mediation of regional hotspot issues and supports Angola in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs.
Qin added China is ready to strengthen coordination between the two sides in multilateral affairs, jointly uphold multilateralism, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and work together to build a human community with a shared future.
During the visit to Africa, Qin Gang will also stop in Ethiopia, Gabon, Benin and Egypt.
China and Angola will likely scale up trade and investment in fields such as infrastructure and services, the digital economy, green growth and manufacturing, according to market watchers and business executives.
“Chinese technologies and investment will assist Angola to speed up its industrialisation, upgrade infrastructure, and provide more educational and training opportunities to its people,” said Wei Xiaoquan, a researcher specialised in regional economic development at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
Benefiting from closer business ties and a complementary trade structure, China-Angola trade jumped 20.7 per cent on an annual basis to US$25.12 billion in the first 11 months of 2022, statistics from China’s General Administration of Customs showed.
Crude oil, iron ore, bitumen, timber, agricultural and wood products are China’s main imports from Angola. Clothing, machinery, vehicles, trains, telecommunication equipment, industrial parts, household appliances, computers and steel make up most of China’s exports to the African republic.
“Infrastructure construction is a key field in cooperation. Chinese companies are contracting many infrastructure projects in Angola, including building railroads, irrigation systems and ports,” said Zhang Xiang, vice-president of the Beijing-based China International Contractors Association, which helps Chinese companies secure business in overseas markets.
