China’s President Xi Jinping, and Angola’s President José Eduardo dos Santos, have pledged to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, Angolan news agency Angop reported.

The two leaders met on Thursday in Johannesburg, in South Africa, on the sidelines of the Second Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), being held on Friday and Saturday.

According to Angop, both Presidents hailed what they described as excellent bilateral ties, and pledged to develop them further.

The Chinese President is expected to hold other bilateral meetings with African leaders on the sidelines of the Summit. The Presidencies of Mozambique and Cape Verde had already announced such meetings, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.

The Second Summit of FOCAC is being held under the theme “Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development”.