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by Sikula
BRAZZAVILLE, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou N'guesso starts his State Visit to China from July 4 to 8, his first trip outside Africa since being re-elected during the March 20 presidential elections.
The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss issues of common interest, especially the situation in Central Africa as well as international affairs.
Dating back over half a century, the relationship between the two nations has continued to grow stronger over the years, yielding benefits for the people of both countries.
This can be seen in the number of reciprocal visits by the top leadership of both countries and the volume of trade that reached 6.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 between the two nations.
According to Chinese Ambassador to Brazzaville, Xia Huang, China has been Republic of Congo's number one commercial partner since 2006 and this trend will be maintained this year.
Statistics from China's ministry of commerce show that in 2014, Chinese exports to Congo reached a billion dollars against imports valued at 5.5 billion dollars.
During the same year, the Republic of Congo was China's sixth commercial partner in Africa and second in West and Central Africa.
Republic of Congo and China, which are both ranked as developing countries, have not spared any efforts to develop their friendly ties, solidarity and cooperation. The strategic partnership agreements signed between the two sides have helped boost their bilateral cooperation.
In the area of infrastructure for instance, China has supported the Republic of Congo to achieve its basic infrastructure development program.
Such projects include the construction of a 500 km road linking Pointe Noire to Brazzaville, Maya Maya airport in Brazzaville, 120 MW Imboulou hydroelectric dam and Liouesso power station (19MW), water production units, and roads linking the country to its neighbouring states such as Gabon.
The Nkombe agricultural pilot center, Mpila housing units and Mfilou Sino-Congo Friendship Hospital are additions to the long list of achievements under the Republic of Congo and China cooperation.
The cooperation has also seen the construction of a conference center and Alphonse Massamba-Debat stadium that hosted the first edition of All-Africa Games in 1965.
Each year, over 100 Congolese students enrol in Chinese universities. China supports the Congolese government's efforts in the area of professional training, environmental conservation, health and agricultural development.
Last year, the two countries created a bank dubbed Sino-Congolese Bank for Africa (SCBA), based in Brazzaville, with a capital of 100 million dollars.
In 2013, during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Brazzaville, various agreements were signed between the two parties. A year later, Sassou N'Guesso visited Beijing.
During his current visit to China, the Congolese leader will use the opportunity to present development projects that could be funded by China under the framework of China-Africa cooperation.
