China and São Tomé and Príncipe will work together to increase farm output and to improve education and healthcare in the northern São Toméan village of Caldeiras, with a view to raising standards of living there, Chinese Ambassador to São Tomé Xu Yingzhen has said.

Ms Xu said so when she visited the village on Monday, according to a written statement issued by her embassy the day after.

The statement quotes villagers as thanking China for the help it gives them in farming in general and raising poultry in particular; for providing them with fuel-efficient wood-burning stoves; for giving them medical attention; and for sending Confucius Institute teachers to educate them.

The embassy says Chinese advisers gave a talk on preventing malaria, tested villagers for the disease, and gave them supplies for keeping it at bay.

Chinese technicians have started in Caldeiras a pilot project for a wider drive to reduce poverty in São Tomé and Príncipe, the Chinese Embassy in São Tomé says.