Cape Verde has named a main road in its capital city Praia after China, to express gratitude for the help it has received over the years.

The 700-metre long street, where some government offices are located, was named “Avenida da China”, the Commercial Counsellor’s Office of the Chinese Embassy in Cape Verde said in a statement this week.

“Praia has benefited a lot from the friendly cooperation between Cape Verde and China,” Ulisses Correia e Silva, the city’s mayor, was quoted saying. “[The name of the street] is to show that we are thankful to the Government and citizens of China for their selfless support in the development of Cape Verde, and to commemorate the achievement of the bilateral cooperation,” he added.

Mr Silva and Su Jian, China’s ambassador to Cape Verde, attended on February 19 a ceremony to unveil the new name of the street. Representatives of a number of Chinese companies in Cape Verde attended the ceremony.

Mr Su said earlier this month that Chinese financial aid to the African archipelago will increase to US$30 million this year from US$25 million in 2014.