Sino-African cooperation to further expand: MOC spokesmanChina will keep improving economic and trade relations with Africa by increasing investments in agriculture， finance， environmental protection and those that concern African people’s livelihoods， a commerce ministry spokesman said on Feb. 17， 2011.The Chinese government will continue to promote SinoAfrican ties under the principles of equality， effectiveness， mutual benefit and common development， “no matter how the world changes， “Yao Jian， the Ministry of Commerce spokesman， told a press conference in Beijing.China will actively promote trade liberalization between China and African nations， and encourage Chinese enterprises to invest more in Africa’s agriculture， manufacturing， finance， trade and environmental protection sectors， said Yao.China is now Africa’s largest trade partner and Africa emerged as China’s fourth largest overseas destination for investment last year， he said.China-Africa trade totalled 126.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2010， compared with 10 billion U.S. dollars a decade ago. In the same year， China’s investment in Africa topped 1 billion U.S. dollars， he said.Chinese aid to African nations will focus more on sectors that concern people’s livelihoods， such as poverty-relief， agriculture， education， medical care and safe drinking water， he said.China will also work with African nations to create more transparent， fair and predictable business environment for both Chinese and African enterprises， he added.Commerce Minister Chen Deming is on a visit to Morocco， Equatorial Guinea and Ghana from Sunday to Thursday， during which he had carried out extensive discussions with political and business leaders in those nations while deepening mutual understandings， Yao said. (Xinhua)High-level Chinese delegation to visit RwandaA high-level Chinese delegation headed by the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)， Li Zhaozhuo， will arrived for an official visit to Rwanda， according to an official statement released on Feb. 17， 2011.The visit by the Chinese delegation comprising 12 officials aims to deepen inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries， a press release said， citing Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Shu Zhan.The delegation is scheduled to arrive on Friday for discussions with officials of the Central African nation， including the deputy speaker of Rwandan parliament， Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo， the statement said.The delegation is expected to meet with Governor of Rwanda’s Northern Province Aime Bosenibamwe on opportunities for Chinese investors to explore in that region. (Xinhua)Chadian president says to expand cooperation with China in various fieldsChadian President Idriss Deby Itno said on Feb.16， 2011 while meeting visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi that his country is willing to expand cooperation with China in infrastructure building， agriculture， health care and other fields.During the meeting with Yang， who arrived here Tuesday for an official visit， the president said the ChadianChinese relations are based on equality， mutual respect and noninterference in each other’s interior affairs. He said China has successfully completed a number of aid projects in Chad， which greatly facilitated the social and economic development of the African country.Deby said Chad is willing to boost cooperation with China in such areas as infrastructure construction， agriculture and health care， and hopes to strengthen coordination with China on international affairs.For his part， Yang said Chad has undertaken the path of national reconciliation， political stability and social progress under the leadership of President Deby， and has made significant achievements in economic development and improvement of the welfare of the Chadian people.He said bilateral relations are developing rapidly since the re-establishment of diplomatic ties， with cooperation and exchanges at different levels significantly increased. The two sides have improved mutual political trust， supported each other on matters regarding each other’s core interests， and seen continuous progress in trade and economic cooperation， said the foreign minister.Yang said China sees Chad as an important partner in Africa， and China is willing to further boost mutual political trust with Chad， expand trade and cooperation in infrastructure building， telecommunications as well as education sectors. (Xinhua)China， Ghana eye more trade， investmentGhanaian President John Atta Mills and visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming agreed on Feb. 16 to boost trade and investment between the two countries.Ghana boasts abundant resources of oil， natural gas， minerals， fisheries and tourism， while China enjoys advantages in technology， equipment and capital， Chen said.China is ready to cooperate with Ghana to broaden mutually beneficial cooperation and expand bilateral trade and investment on the basis of each other’s advantages， he added.Trade between China and Ghana reached a record high of 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2010， some 15 times of that in 2000， according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.Official statistics also showed that Ghana’s exports to China increased by 74 percent and 55 percent respectively in 2009 and 2010， reducing the big trade imbalances between the two countries. (Xinhua)Air Mauritius announces direct operations to ChinaAir Mauritius announced its direct operations to Shanghai， People’s Republic of China， as from early July 2011 on Jan. 26， 2011. Shanghai will therefore be the 25th destination of the national airline and it’s 4th in East Asia. Air Mauritius already flies to Singapore， Malaysia and Hong Kong.The flight will fly via Kuala Lumpur and will offer connections from/to Reunion， Antananarivo and South Africa.Shanghai is the most populous city of the People’s Republic of China and is also the center of finance and trade in this booming economy. Shanghai is also a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks. Last year’s World Expo attracted a record number of 73 million visitors and provided a unique opportunity to raise the profile of Shanghai as a truly global city.André Viljoen， the airline’s Acting CEO stated， “We are delighted to announce our direct operations to Shanghai and therefore pave the way for closer ties between China and Mauritius. This flight is a first step in our development in one of the world’s fastest growing economies and we hope that our tourism partners will find new opportunities for growth as we diversify our tourism markets and as we build up our capacity to East Asia from 6 weekly frequencies to a daily.” (www.airmauritius.com)Angola， China seek cooperation to boost cereal productionAngola will benefit from Chinese support in Agricultural development， mainly in boosting cereal production in the African country， the Angolan Ambassador to China， Jo?o Manuel Bernardo， announced here Monday. The Angolan diplomat was speaking at the opening of a three-day 4th Broad Consultative Council of Foreign Affairs Ministry(Mirex).Bernardo said that the project was meant to take advantage of the wide Chinese experience in the cultivation of rice， maize， Soya and other cereals produced in Angola.The ambassador said that the production boost and increase of cereals would be implemented in the provinces of Uíge， Huambo， Malanje and Cabinda.The first phase， to be funded by China’s Development Bank with US$ 1.5 billion， will also cover other projects.The official also disclosed that Chinese engineers were in Angola to train and share their experiences and new technologies to local Angolan farmers， on the boosting of cereal production. (Afrique en ligne)Chinese firm to inject US3m into coal， iron ore minesChinese firm， Sichuan Hongda Corporation Ltd will invest US$3 million in the Mchuchuma coal and Liganga iron ore production projects in Southern Tanzania.This is the first major mining investment by the firm in Tanzania， after it was selected out of 48 international companies that bid to develop the two projects.The projects will provide the base for industrial activities and a source of coal for both local industrial use， as well as for export.It is also expected that the projects will influence the development of infrastructure.Chrisant Mzindakaya， the chairman of the board of the National Development Corporation told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam last week that the Mchuchuma coal project， which is expected to produce 600 Megawatts of electricity will supplement the hydropower sources in Tanzania.“The project will also necessitate the strengthening and building of new power transmission lines，” said Dr Mzindakaya.The country is notorious for chronic power rationing， largely due to overdependence on hydro sources.Director of Heavy Industry in the Ministry of Industries， Trade and Marketing， Alley Mwakibolwa， said the Mchuchuma mining area has an estimated 540 million tonnes of coal deposits， which is enough to produce electricity for over 100 years.“Once the Mchuchuma project is complete， the power rationing problem will be solved，” he said.Mr Mwakibolwa added that the 600MW of power expected will attract investment in other sectors as well.The Mchuchuma project covers an area of about 141 square kilometers while the Liganga Steel Complex covers 179 square kilometers.In February last year， NDC shortlisted 25 international firms for the Mchuchuma Coal and Liganga Iron ore concessions.Nine firms were picked from these. They are BHP Billiton Worldwide Exploration Ltd of South Africa， China Huadian Engineering Company Ltd of China， Nava Bharat(Singapore) Pte Ltd of Singapore and Rio Tinto Minerals Development Ltd of United Kingdom，etc. (The EastAfrican)
