Africa-Press – Angola. Angola and China will take, this weekend, another step towards consolidating bilateral cooperation, within the framework of President João Lourenço’s state visit to this country.
The Angolan Head of State carries out a three-day mission to the lands of the “Asian giant”, focusing on deepening economic and business relations, which are intended to be more “vibrant”.
With this visit, the two countries will have the chance to evaluate the effectiveness of existing agreements and project new areas of investment, involving, above all, the private sector.
During the three-day visit, the highlight will be a meeting with President Xi Jinping, on the first day, to discuss the future strategy of bilateral relations.
The vast program that João Lourenço will carry out in Chinese lands also includes participation in a business forum, in which the topic of investment in Angola will be at the center of the debates.
With a stock valued at US$18,410.2 million, corresponding to 37.27% of Angola’s total external public debt (valued at around US$49,387.7 million by the third quarter of 2023), China remains the largest Angola’s creditor, despite the Government’s efforts to reduce debt.
João Lourenço’s visit to the People’s Republic of China constitutes a new window for attracting new Chinese investors, who can take advantage of the improved business environment in Angola to diversify their investments.
It is expected, with this State mission, that the two countries will find platforms of understanding adjusted to the reality of their respective peoples, capable of providing mutual advantages and diversifying existing cooperation.
Currently, the cooperation relations between the two countries have their legal framework based on a General Agreement that operates in the most varied areas of economic and social life, with a strong presence in the areas of staff training, in the case of the construction and equipping of the Integrated Center of Technological Training and the Venâncio de Moura Diplomatic Academy, as well as scholarships for young Angolans.
Angola and China are strategic partners, with political-diplomatic and cooperation relations that have seen a notable increase since 2000, enabling the signing of several legal instruments in the social, commercial and business domains.
Since 2007, Angola has been China’s largest trading partner in Africa, with a turnover that registered, in 2010 alone, a total of 24.8 billion US dollars.
In 2017, the value of trade with the Asian giant rose, in the first quarter, to 61.32 percent, that is, to 5.55 billion US dollars.
At the end of 2018, China approved a new financing line of two billion US dollars.
In 2022, Angola regained its position as China’s second largest partner in Africa, lost in 2020, and the trade volume between the two countries was more than 22 billion US dollars, from January to November 2022.
This volume represents an increase of over 26 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the Chinese Ambassador to Angola.
The Chinese Diplomatic Mission highlights that, in 2022, Angolan exports to China were more diversified compared to previous years, because, in addition to oil, Angola exported coffee, fruits, metallic minerals and ornamental rocks.
According to available data, Chinese companies built in Angola around three thousand kilometers of railway, 20 thousand of roads, 100 thousand social housing units, 100 schools, 50 hospitals, and much more.
The completed and ongoing works include the Caculo Cabaça Dam, the New Luanda International Airport, the Kilamba and Dundo centralities, the Benguela Railway, the Soyo Thermal Power Station, among others.
China has actively supported Angola’s development and provided assistance through several donation projects, such as CINFOTEC Huambo, the Luanda General Hospital, the Agricultural Technologies Demonstration Center in Mazozo and the Venâncio de Moura Diplomatic Academy”.
China organized training for more than three thousand Angolan employees in the fields of commerce, agriculture, health, media and police, sent five medical teams, made up of 70 doctors, who received almost 400 thousand Angolan patients, provided hundreds of scholarships study for Angolans, and helped train talent in various industries.
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