The president of the Angolan-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (CAC), Luis Cupenala, has praised what he calls the “enormous” cooperation between Angola and China, saying that the level of bilateral cooperation is consistent and reliable.
Cupenala told Xinhua that this cooperation has contributed to improving infrastructure, industrialization, and poverty reduction in the southern African country.
Cupenala highlighted transportation as an area where the two countries have cooperated extensively over the years, praising Chinese companies for building and rehabilitating railroads such as the Benguela Railway, roads, airports, and electrical infrastructure that have improved the country’s connectivity.
The 1,344-km Benguela Railway, built by China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation and connecting the port city of Lobito to the town of Luau on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, was handed over to Angola on Oct. 3, 2019.
Through cooperation, he said that Chinese companies have also created jobs and facilitated the transfer of skills to local people, helping them build capacity and increase productivity.
“China has participated in these challenges to ensure that the country (Angola) can move people and goods from one point to another and, of course, trade with the international market,” he said.
Cupenala said China is committed to peace and stability in the world, promoting mutually beneficial partnerships and recognizing Africa as a great partner that can change from where it is now.
The most important thing for Africa-China cooperation, he said, is to identify the areas where both sides can further improve to achieve greater mutual benefits.
Angola, with a land area of about 1.25 million square kilometers, is rich in natural resources such as oil and diamonds and has fertile soil and favorable climatic conditions for agriculture.
The country needs to convert these comparative advantages into goods and services that ultimately improve people’s lives, Cupenala said.
China has undertaken radical economic reforms over the past 40 years and has risen to become the world’s second-largest economy.
Angola is keen to learn from the Asian nation’s experience, including in the fight against corruption, Cupenala said.