Chen Feng was speaking to Lusa on the sidelines of the International Conference "Paths for Development: Studies and Practices in China and Angola", organized by the Catholic University of Angola and the Chinese diplomatic representation.
President João Lourenço has already left Luanda for Washington, where he will meet this Thursday with his North American counterpart, Joe Biden, signaling the political and economic proximity between the two countries.
"The Chinese have confidence in Angola's future development and we are further strengthening our bilateral cooperation, it is not a problem for us", said Chen Feng regarding this visit.
"Angola is an independent country, it has the freedom to cooperate with any country in the world and I hope that other partners will also contribute and fulfill their promises of cooperation with Angola like China", he added.
Asked to comment on China's withdrawal from the Lobito Corridor, a strategic railway infrastructure that will connect Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the port of Lobito, and the priority given to North American financing, she stated that "it is normal".
"China cooperates on the basis of equality and reciprocal benefit and Angola has the right to choose its partners", he highlighted.
As for the arrival of a new ambassador, after the departure of Gong Tao, who ended his mission in August, he declared that there is no delay or diplomatic obstacle, justifying that China "chooses its ambassadors seriously".
"It's not just Angola that is in this situation, we have to choose a suitable person for such an important country, so it takes a while," he said, without giving dates for the replacement.
On the other hand, he devalued the decrease in the value of trade, which he attributed to the fluctuation in oil prices, noting, however, that Angola overtook Nigeria last month and returned to second place as China's main trading partner in Africa, after South Africa.
Between January and October of this year, trade between the two countries exceeded 18 billion dollars, compared to 27 billion dollars recorded in 2022.
