Mainland China and East Timor will co-operate in the fields of healthcare and education, the Government-run news agency Xinhua reports.

The agreement was signed at a meeting last week between Liu Hongyang, the Chinese Ambassador to the southeast Asian nation, and East Timor’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Hernâni Coelho.

Co-operation in healthcare and education meets the needs of East Timor and the objectives of the China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, Mr Liu was quoted as saying.

Mr Coelho was quoted as saying he could see more Chinese organisations participating in the development of East Timor’s infrastructure.

Beijing attaches great importance to developing a good relationship and intensifying its co-operation with East Timor, and will continue to support the country’s economic diversification, the report says.