The branch of the Confucius Institute at Agostinho Neto University in Angola is starting a programme of training for Angolans wishing to teach the Chinese language, Jornal de Angola reports.

The newspaper quotes Ren Bing, who runs the branch, as saying he has only eight Chinese and two Angolans capable of teaching Chinese to the 300 or so students wishing to learn it.

Mr Ren said his branch of the Chinese cultural agency can increase its roll of Angolan students of Chinese to the desired number of 1,000 only by training more Angolans to teach the language.

The report quotes a Chinese diplomat in Luanda, Li Bin, as saying more Chinese-speaking Angolans means closer Sino-Angolan relations.

Every year the Chinese government gives over 200 Angolans scholarships to attend Chinese universities, Jornal de Angola says.