Official data indicate that China was the biggest source of Angolan imports of merchandise in the second quarter of last year, accounting for about 8 percent, Lusa reports.

The Portuguese news agency says figures accepted by the Angolan legislature  last Thursday show that second-quarter imports from China were worth 276 billion kwanza (about US$558.4 million) last year, 86 per cent more than a year earlier.

The figures indicate that the fastest-growing sources of imports to Angola were Italy, India, Togo, Argentina and Hong Kong, Lusa says.

Last month US public broadcaster to foreign audiences Voice of America, citing official data, reported that the annual value of Sino-Angolan trade rose to US$23 billion last year, making Angola the third-biggest trading partner of China in Africa.