The Angolan Minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João, has called for greater Chinese investment in his country’s agriculture.

Speaking to Xinhua, the minister said that Angola has around 60 million hectares of arable land and a low population density, with 30 inhabitants per square kilometre.

“We have a lot of lands where we would like to invite Chinese investors to grow Chinese products and export to China,” Mário Caetano João said.

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“This will be very interesting because we also know that China is planning to offer tax- and quota-free access to Angolan goods to China,” recalled the minister.

“We already have many Chinese companies investing in agribusiness; even the biggest maize producer in the province of Malanje, in Angola, is Chinese,” said Mário Caetano João.

The minister pointed to agriculture as one of the key areas for the diversification of the Angolan economy, which is dependent on the oil sector.

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Agricultural development will also imply major investments in infrastructure, namely in roads, electricity and water supply, and in the food processing industry, added Mário Caetano João.

The minister defended “much greater cooperation with China” in the manufacture in Angola of medicines for human and animal consumption, in “digital transformation” and in the financial sector.

China accounts for 22 per cent of the world’s population, but only 7 per cent of Chinese territory is considered arable land, according to official Chinese data.

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On 5 August, the Chinese ambassador in Luanda, Gong Tao, said that negotiations were underway for the exemption of customs tariffs on exports to China.

Total Chinese investment in Angola has already reached USD20 billion, but Mário Caetano João said he would like “it to be much higher” especially private investment.