Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos agreed with
visiting?Premier
Wen Jiabao to broaden mutually beneficial
cooperation.
During their meeting In Luanda yesterday, Wen said Sino-Angolan
relations have developed smoothly in the past 23 years since the
establishment of 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's on a seven-African nation tour.
He said Chinese enterprises are seeking more opportunities for
economic cooperation in Angola, China's second largest trading
partner in Africa. Some Angolan projects aided by China have
achieved sound social and economic benefits, he added.
Wen noted that China will further strengthen cooperation with
Angola in the fields of infrastructure, telecommunications and
energy. He said China will continue to aid Angola and encourage
their companies to invest in China.
For his part Dos Santos said bilateral relations have made real
progress as both sides have abided by the principles of mutual
respect, equality and benefit. He said Angola's reconstruction
needs China's help and he welcomed investments from
China.?
The president said Angola supports China's policy toward Africa
and added that China's cooperation projects in Africa have 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 priority, Wen
said.
Currently China can provide 90 percent of its own energy needs.
The oil imported from Africa to China annually is less than one
third of that by some countries, he noted.
In the future China will further enhance its energy cooperation
with African countries including Angola, based on equality and
mutual benefit, he said.
Dos Santos expressed his hope that the two countries can
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 overall it is developing positively. The Chinese
government has always insisted that the countries of the Great
Lakes 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
the region together.
China supports the Angolan government's efforts to solve
regional disputes and will 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 communiqué and signed a series of economic
cooperation treaties after the meeting.
(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2006)
