Chinese President to Visit 8 African Countries

China's foreign ministry says President Hu Jintao will make a state visit to eight African countries starting January 30th. Mr. Hu's trip is to end February 10th. The foreign ministry says he will visit Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles.

China hosted a summit for 48 African countries in Beijing last November. The official Xinhua news agency says China signed 14 agreements worth one-point-nine billion dollars with African governments and companies. Mr. Hu pledged to double aid to the continent by 2009 and provide a five-billion-dollar loan and credit package.

China says its trade with African nations increased tenfold between 1995 and 2005 and was expected to top 50-billion dollars in 2006. Much of the trade has been in oil.

中国外交部说，中国国家主席胡锦涛将从1月30号开始对8个非洲国家进行国事访问。胡锦涛的这次行程将在2月10号结束。中国外交部说，胡锦涛将访问喀麦隆、利比里亚、苏丹、赞比亚、纳米比亚、南非、莫桑比克和塞舌尔。

中国去年11月在北京主办了非洲48国高峰会。官方的新华社报导说，中国和非洲国家政府及公司签署了14项总金额19亿美元的合同。 胡锦涛承诺，中国将在2009年之前把对非洲的援助增加一倍，并提供50亿美元的贷款和信贷。

中国说，中国和非洲国家的贸易额从1995年到2005年增长了10倍，预期在2006年将达到500亿美元，其中大部份贸易是石油。