China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, official data show. Officials suggest stimulus measures have started to kick in.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a US$24-million loan to Guinea Bissau, that country’s news agency ANG reported on Monday.

China’s exports rose for the first time in four months in June, official data show. Officials suggest it is a fresh sign that the world’s second largest economy is stabilising.

Portugal ought to have direct flights to China, argues José Maria Ricciardi, President of investment bank BESI. The news was given on Friday by Portuguese economic news outlet Dinheiro Vivo.

Cape Verde’s Minister of Tourism, Investments and Business Development, Leonesa Fortes, will visit China on July 23 to sign a tourism investment deal with Macao businessman David Chow. It is for construction of a casino-resort near the country’s capital, Praia, Cape Verdean newspaper A Semana reported.

Guinea Bissau launched last week an international tender seeking a private partner to manage the Port of Bissau, the sole commercial port in the African nation, Guinea Bissau News Agency reported.

A Sino-Angolan consortium will invest 12.4 billion euros (US$13.8 billion) in the construction of an oil refinery in the northern Angolan province of Bengo, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

China is willing to work with Brazil in numerous areas to advance their bilateral ties Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported, quoting China’s President Xi Jinping. He described those ties as “a luxuriant tree”, Xinhua additionally said.

China’s consumer prices went up slightly in June while producer prices continued to fall, official data show. The country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Thursday that inflation in China was up 1.4 percent in June year-on-year, compared with an increase of 1.2 percent year-on-year in May.

China’s State Council is confident that the country will be able to reach its economic and social development targets for this year, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau are among African countries that will benefit from a total of 1.15 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) in aid announced earlier this week by the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU). It is to help support West Africa until 2020. The new funding nearly doubles the EU’s previous commitment to the region.

China and Russia will assist in the construction of what was referred to as a “transport corridor” connecting Brazil and Chile if the scheme is approved, Russian state-controlled news service Sputnik reported.