[2019-09-26] China wants to help Angola’s industrialisation process

Source: Macauhub

China wants to build vehicle assembly plants, fishing vessel construction sites and recycling centres in Angola to industrialise the country, Ambassador Gong Tao said on Tuesday in Luanda.

The Chinese ambassador to Angola underlined the intention of his country’s authorities to intensify cooperation with Angola, particularly in the area of industrialisation, as it is currently focused on agriculture, oil and construction.

Official figures released by Forum Macau showed that trade between the two countries exceeded US$27.7 billion in 2018, up 24.2% year-on-year, and in the first half of 2018 it rose 1.9% to over US$13.6 billion.

The Chinese ambassador, who was speaking at a meeting with journalists, said that Chinese companies are conducting market research in Angola about investment opportunities in the country as well as areas of intervention.

Gong Tao said that since 2002, the year in which his country’s presence in Angola was strengthened, Chinese companies have rebuilt 2,800 kilometres of railway, 20,000 kilometres of roads, built 100,000 social houses, more than six schools and hospitals. and these projects have supported Angola’s economic and social development.

The ambassador, citing statistics he described as incomplete, said Chinese investment in Angola had already exceeded US$20 billion, according to the Angop news agency.

At the meeting held at the Aníbal de Melo Press Centre on the framework of the development of Sino-Angolan relations, the ambassador also reported that Angola’s debt to his country fell from US$23.3 billion in 2017 to US$22.8 billion in 2018, a real drop of US$500,000 or 2.0% of the total.

In November China is due to host the first edition of the China/Africa Trade and Investment Fair and the Chinese ambassador said he expected “strong Angolan participation” in the event, expressing “confidence” in the Angolan Government’s actions to improve the business environment.