Trade between Angola and China in the first half of 2021 was up 23.9% on the year, at US$10.55 billion (€8.985 billion), China’s ambassador to Angola, Gong Tao, has announced.
The acceleration comes after last year’s 37% drop in trade between the African country and the Asian giant, reflecting the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Gong Tao, in the first six months of this year China exported $1.030 billion to Angola and imported around nine times as much by value, at US$9.5 billion.
China’s imports from Angola have long been overwhelming composed of oil, which also accounts for the bulk of Angola’s exports.
Speaking to journalists at a news conference in Luanda, the diplomat said that China’s companies had overcome the difficulties and were interested in investing in Angola. He cited the example of two factories recently built in the country, to produce tiles and energy and water meters respectivly.
“We know that, like the others, [these companies] have faced difficulties in maintaining operations and cooperation due to the challenges of Covid-19, but even so many of them have managed to survive,” he said, adding that “more Chinese investment is coming.”
Companies based in China already employ over 10,000 workers in Angola, and a package with 114 internship places was recently made available, he said.
The ambassador played down reports of complaints from workers about Chinese employers, saying that he was unaware of any such cases and stressing the support that companies had given in the fight against Covid-19.
“We support greater social responsibility of companies,” he stressed.
Gong Tao also noted the interest shown by Chinese investors in Angola’s privatisation programme, as shown in a recent roadshow organised by the Angolan authorities, in which around 200 businesspeople from Asia took part.
The diplomat added that China’s government was also keen and would “continue to encourage Chinese companies to invest more in the Angolan market and participate in the process of economic diversification and industrialisation of the Angolan economy.”
By last year, he said, Chinese investment in Angola totalled $100 million, in areas such as oil, agriculture, fishing, industry, trade, construction and real estate.
