
Located in the southwestern part of the African continent, the
Republic of Angola covers an area of 1,250,000 square km and has a population of
14 million, mostly being Protestants, Roman Catholics and believers in primitive
religions. Portuguese is the official language. Luanda is the national capital.
The current president is Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
China has rendered strong support to the Angolan people in their struggle for
national independence. The relationship between Angola and China has been
developing smoothly since they established diplomatic relations on January 12,
1983. Bilateral cooperation in various areas has been successful. The two
countries support each other and work together in international affairs. Speaker
of the National Assembly of Angola Almeida visited China in 2001. Chinese
Premier Wen Jiaobao visited Angola in June 2006. Bilateral trade has been
growing rapidly, totaling 6.95 billion U.S. dollars in 2005.