Beijing - Angolan President João Lourenço ended Sunday the official visit to the People's Republic of China marked by the signing of agreements and the renegotiation of the nation’s debt to the Asian country.
João Lourenço left Beijing, after three days of intense political, economic and diplomatic activity, which opened a new era in bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership between the two states.
The Angolan Head of State, who left China satisfied with the results of his visit, was greeted at Beijing Capital International Airport by Chinese authorities and Angola’s Foreign Minister Téte António.
Angola’s Foreign Affairs minister said the visit was very positive and that the objectives have been met.
During his stay, João Lourenço held high-level meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and with the prime minister, Li Qiang, as well as a courtesy meeting with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Assembly (Parliament), Zhao Laji.
The first day of the agenda was filled with an intense day of talks with Chinese businessmen, who gave an update on various projects underway in Angola, especially the Caculo Cabaça Dam and the new Luanda International Airport.
João Lourenço discussed with the Chinese authorities and private investors the various ways of financing new projects in Angola, in different sectors, with emphasis on agriculture, fisheries, oil refining, telecommunications and information technology, health and infrastructure.
At the meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping, he emphasized the need to renegotiate Angola's debt to China, set at around 17 billion US dollars.
The Angolan President said that of this amount, around 12 billion US dollars had been contracted with the Chinese Development Bank CDB and EximBank, with oil collateral and repayment clauses that overload the country’s debt service.
João Lourenço assured that Angola and China have reached agreements on relief measures of the debt.
The Head of State stated, however, that the agreements reached regarding the renegotiation of Angola's debt should not represent losses for the creditor.
Lourenço said that “relief measures have been found that do not jeopardize the interests of either party".
At the same meeting with President Xi Jinping, he asked for China's support to help Angola out of its asphyxiating situation, and invited his counterpart to visit the country, an invitation that has already been accepted by the Chinese leader.
At the end of the meeting, the two Presidents witnessed the signing of 12 legal instruments to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as trade, agriculture, sustainable development and digital infrastructures.
Business forum
Another milestone on President João Lourenço's agenda was his participation in the Angola-China Business Forum attended by more than 1,300 companies, including 30 Angolan companies.
The Angolan statesman invited Chinese businesspeople to invest in the Lobito Corridor, in Benguela province, in the production of foodstuffs, including cereals and grains, sugar, animal breeding and fisheries.
Lourenço spoke of the need to set up in the country a battery production industry for the manufacture of electric cars, photovoltaic panels for solar energy, tourism and other sectors of the economy as areas to be counted on.
He also invited Chinese businesspeople to invest in factories to produce medicines and certified vaccines, whose main client will be the Angolan state to meet the demands of the National Health System.
Lourenço added that Angola seeks to attract Chinese investors that would bring, along with financial capital and advanced technology, "know-how" to make it possible to increase efficiency in the domestic production of goods and services.
The President also held a meeting with the Angolan community, which served to talk about their reality and convey the progress made in Angola in various areas over the last eight years.
Shandong
The last day of the official visit was marked by a trip to Shandong province, more than 400 kilometres from Beijing, where President João Lourenço visited several companies, such as Xinhua Medical Instruments co.LTd, which produces medical devices and pharmaceutical equipment.
The Angolan President also visited the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, with the aim of finding solutions that can be adapted to Angola's reality and that can boost agriculture.
He also travelled to the mushroom cultivation base of Qihe Biotech, a national high-tech company that deals with research, development, production and sales and export, as well as technology demonstration.
He also made contact with the Lutai Group, which is a clothing supplier with cutting-edge fabrics and is currently considered the world's largest producer of high-quality dyed-color fabrics, particularly shirts.
Shandong is a populous province with a resident population of around 102 million people. It is the second largest in terms of population, behind Guangdong.
It is one of the most developed in the whole of China, with a Gross Domestic Product estimated at over a trillion dollars. With a population of 102 million people, it is the birthplace of the great Chinese thinker Confucius.
At the end of the meeting, the President of the Republic gave an interview to local media outlets which served to discuss the results of the visit and other aspects related to bilateral cooperation, the reality of Angola and world geopolitics. FMA/VIC/ADR/AMP
