The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the authorities in Angola are negotiating the postponement of repayments of Angolan debt to the state-owned bank, Lusa reports, citing Chinese Ambassador to Angola Gong Tao.

The Portuguese news agency quotes Mr Gong as telling a press conference on Monday that big financial institutions in China have been proactive in lightening the burden of debt borne by Angola.

Mr Gong promised to keep urging Chinese companies to invest more in Angola, and to support efforts by Angola to build up its industrial base and make its economy more diverse, Lusa says.

In a separate report, the Angolan state-run news agency, Angop, quotes Mr Gong as saying he is negotiating the dispatch this year of 12 Chinese health workers to undertake the seventh Chinese medical mission to Angola.

Mr Gong said most of the 72 Chinese doctors already in Angola worked in the main hospital in Luanda, and that China now intended to offer free medical attention to people in the provinces.