For the third year in a row, Chinese diplomats are giving out Christmas hampers to elderly people and members of low-income households in São Tomé and Príncipe, the Chinese Embassy in São Tomé says.

The embassy says in a social media post that São Toméan charities or other bodies are helping distribute over 6,000 hampers all over the country.

The first of the hampers were handed out on Wednesday by Chinese Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe Xu Yingzhen, São Toméan Labour Minister Adllander de Matos, and Mayor José Maria Fonseca of Água Grande, which is on the island of São Tomé.

The hampers are meant to give the neediest of São Toméans some Christmas relief, the Chinese Embassy in São Tomé says.