Angola, China pledge to broaden cooperation

Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos agreed with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday in Luanda to broaden their mutually beneficial cooperation.

During their meeting, Premier Wen said Sino-Angolan relations had developed smoothly in the past 23 years since the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

"The Chinese government highly appreciates Angola's adherence to the one-China principle, and China supports Angola's post-war reconstruction," said Wen, who is on a seven-nation Africa tour.

The premier said Chinese enterprises were seeking more opportunities for economic cooperation in Angola, China's second largest trading partner in Africa. Some Angolan projects aided by China had achieved sound social and economic benefits, he added.

Wen noted that China would further strengthen cooperation with Angola in the fields of infrastructure, telecommunications and energy. He added that China would continue to aid Angola and encourage Angolan companies to invest in China.

For his part, Dos Santos said bilateral relations had made real progress as both sides had abided by the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. He said Angola's reconstruction needed China's help and he welcomed investments from China.

The president said Angola supported China's policy toward Africa, adding that China's cooperation projects in Africa helped the continent to develop, relieve poverty and achieve common development.

China's energy development should begin inside the country, making energy saving and improved efficiency the first priority, Wen said.

Currently China could provide 90 percent of its own energy needs. The oil imported from Africa to China annually was less than one third of that by some countries, Wen mentioned. China would in the future further enhance its energy cooperation with African countries, including Angola, based on equality and mutual benefit, the Chinese premier said.

President Dos Santos expressed his hope that the two countries could strengthen their mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector, combining Angola's rich natural resources with China's huge development potential.

When talking about the situation in Africa's Great Lakes region, Wen said that the overall situation was developing positively. The Chinese government has always insisted that the Great Lakes countries should try to solve their problems through negotiation and dialogue on the basis of respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, pursuing peace, friendship and prosperity in that region all together.

China supported the Angolan government's efforts to solve the regional disputes, and would always offer help when needed, Wen pledged.

Dos Santos expressed his appreciation of China's offer, and promised to continue to work on regional peace and stability. The two sides issued a joint communique and signed a series of economic cooperation treaties after the meeting.

Source: Xinhua