BEIJING (Reuters) – China will deepen cooperation with Algeria in several key sectors including infrastructure and petrochemicals, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday in a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, as the North African nation seeks to solidify economic ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
Xi, holding talks with Tebboune in Beijing, described Algeria as a natural partner. He said the two countries will also forge deeper ties in the minerals and agriculture sectors, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
The North African nation has strategic importance to China given its location on the Mediterranean Sea. Relations between Beijing and the governing National Liberation Front go back to the late 1950s, when Algeria sought independence from France.
Xi said both sides will also build out cooperation in aerospace, nuclear energy, and renewable energy, as well as cultivating new points for cooperation.
After the meeting, China signed a flurry of bilateral agreements with Algeria, including deals on telecommunications, sustainable urban development and trade, according to CCTV.
In 2014, the countries upgraded their ties to a so-called comprehensive strategic partnership, with Algeria the first Arab nation to form such a partnership with China.
Tebboune, on his first visit to China since becoming Algeria’s president in 2019, said his country is willing to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with China to assist Algeria’s economic and social development.
“(Algeria) is willing to work closely with China on strategic cooperation in international and regional affairs,” Tebboune said.
Tebboune comes to Beijing after a state visit to Russia last month, during which he appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to support Algeria becoming a member of BRICS, a group of emerging markets comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
(Reporting by Bernard Orr, Ella Cao and Joe Cash; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Chizu Nomiyama)
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