Backgrounder: Brief introduction to Portuguese-speaking countries -- Angola

The Second Conference of the Forum on Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese- speaking Countries will be held here from Sept. 24 to 25. The following is a brief introduction to Angola, one of the seven Portuguese-speaking countries:

Located in Southwest Africa and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the west, Angola covers an area of 1.246 million square kilometers with a population of 13.9 million.

Rich in crude oil and diamonds, Angola's oil reserves are as high as 12 billion barrels and natural gas reserves total 7,000 billion cubic meters. Its export of coffee ranks third in the world.

China and Angola established diplomatic relations in 1983, and the gross trade value of the two countries reached 6.928 billion U. S. dollars in 2005. At present, Angola is China's second largest trade partner after South Africa in Africa. In bilateral trade, China mainly imports crude oil and timber from Angola, and exports daily consumer goods including light industrial and textile products, garments, footwear and headgear, as well as machinery and electric household appliances.

Angola is in great needs of daily commodities, and has a great deal of projects to be contracted. Many of China's mature technologies and equipment are suitable for Angola's development of natural resources including crude oil, minerals, ocean, forests, land, and solar and thermal energies.

Source: Xinhua