In 2009, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Angola further strengthened their traditional friendship, and their exchanges and cooperation in diverse areas yielded new outcomes.
China and Angola maintained engagements and exchanges at various levels. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and President Hu Jintao exchanged letters and oral messages on further boosting the win-win bilateral cooperation.
On 17-19 January, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming led a Chinese government business delegation to Angola. During the visit, he met with Prime Minister Antonio Paulo Cassoma and Minister of Commerce Maria Valente, and held talks with Minister of Finance Eduardo de Moris. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral business cooperation, follow-ups to the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and measures to counter the global financial crisis, and agreed to intensify business cooperation.
On 26-28 March, Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei paid a visit to Angola. He met with Minister of Finance Eduardo de Moris, co-chaired with Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations Exalgina Gamboa the fourth session of the Joint Commission of Bilateral Economic and Trade between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Angola, and signed with her three documents, including the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Angola.
On 9 November, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming had a meeting with Minister of Planning Ana Lourenco on the sidelines of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.
Exchanges between the two countries in other fields were further intensified. Visits to Angola were paid by Chairman of the China Development Bank Chen Yuan, Vice Governor of Shandong Province Jia Wanzhi, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Yang Kaisheng, alternate member of the CPC Central Committee and Deputy Secretary of CPC Yunan Provincial Committee Li Jiheng, and President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Chen Haosu. On the Angolan side, Minister of Public Works Francisco Carneiro, a delegation of the Popular Movement for Liberation of Angola, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces General Francisco Pereira Furtado, Deputy Minister of Petroleum Jose Incencio, Minister of Fisheries Salomao Xirimbimbi and Deputy Minister of Finance Valentina de Sousa paid working visits to China respectively. Minister of Petroleum Jose de Vasconcelos attended the Global Think Tank Summit in China.
Bilateral business cooperation took solid steps forward. The relevant projects between China and Angola included in the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit were effectively implemented. The construction of the rural school undertaken by China was completed and the project passed acceptance testing. The anti-malaria center was handed over to the Angolan side. Under the impact of the global financial crisis, bilateral trade volume declined by 32.6 percent year-on-year.