Angolan ruling party says China contributes to Angola's economic development

WINDHOEK - A senior member of the Angolan ruling party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), on Friday praised China for helping to develop the southern African country's economy.

MPLA Politburo member and Member of Parliament, Luisa Damian, who is in Namibia to attend the ruling SWAPO Party Sixth Elective congress - which started on Thursday and ends on Sunday - told Xinhua that her country is happy with its relationship with China.

"China is helping us to develop our country and our economy and we have already started seeing the benefits of this co-operation between China and Angola. We hope that this relationship between China and Angola will continue to develop," Damian said.

She said many of the Angolan students who studied in China have already started participating in the development of sub-Saharan Africa's third biggest economy.

Damian added that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and MPLA share the same ideals of peace, prosperity and improving the wellbeing of citizens.

"We have the same common objectives of ameliorating the lives of our people in our respective countries," Damian said, adding that Angola looks forward to China's support in helping Angola modernize.

The Angolan lawmaker further said that, like China, Angola - Africa's second-largest oil producer - is trying its best to rid itself of corruption.

"We are also working to fight against corruption just like in China," Damian said. "In the last election that we won, our main goal was to do better what we are doing well and to correct what is wrong. This is proof that our party has acknowledged that there are many things that need to be corrected. One of those things is corruption."

According to Cui Aimin, Chinese Ambassador to Angola, China is Angola's largest trading partner while Angola is China's second largest trading partner in Africa as well as the largest source country of imports in Africa.