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)