Angola is one of the stages of the Chinese diplomat's African itinerary and coincided with the celebration of 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which began on January 12, 1983.
During his visit to Luanda, the minister will also visit Huawei's technology park, a gigantic structure made up of training and innovation centres, which cost 60 million dollars and was inaugurated in November last year.
Qin Gang was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on December 31, and with this trip to the African continent, he intends to deepen the strategic partnership and cooperation between China and Africa.
Qin thus fulfills a 33-year-old tradition, according to which the head of Chinese diplomacy makes his first foreign trip of the year to Africa.
China has shown a growing interest in Africa, becoming the continent's largest trading partner, as well as being among Angola's main partners.
Angola is the biggest debtor to Asians among African countries.
This week, Beijing signed a new financing agreement with the Angolan government, in the form of a concessional loan (with lower interest rates and extended repayment terms), worth 249 million dollars, to finance a national broadband project wide in Angola.
During his visit to Ethiopia, Qin Gang rejected the narrative of a 'debt trap' for African countries, arguing that debt is part of development and that it is necessary to guarantee accessible financing.
"China's contribution is concrete and improves the lives of Africans, we do not accept the unreasonable label of a 'debt trap'," said Qin Gang, according to a press release from the Chinese authorities.
Gang's comments are seen as a response to US officials, who have repeatedly criticized China not only for the size and terms of loans made to African governments and public companies, but also for the lack of transparency of financial arrangements.
China accounts for around 12 percent of African governments' external debt, around 700 billion dollars, with Zambia and Ghana, both in financial default of their obligations to external creditors, being among the biggest debtors. to the Asian giant.
Citing figures from the World Bank, Qin Gang noted that multilateral banks account for three-quarters of external debt and added that they should play a greater role in resolving the debt problem, whose costs will increase by 50 percent by 2026 compared to 2019 levels, according to with the research center 'Finance for Development Lab'.
The traditional visit of the Chinese MFA to Africa at the beginning of the year will take Qin Gang, in office since December 31, to Gabon, Benin and Egypt, after his visit to Angola and Ethiopia, where he promised to forgive part of the debt in 2020, according to Chatham House, it was 13.7 billion dollars.
