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Chinese premier heads to Namibia Key Africa visit for China's Hu
(about 23 hours later)
Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to arrive in Namibia on Monday, the fifth stop of an African tour to further strengthen economic co-operation. Chinese President Hu Jintao is heading for South Africa, his country's key trading partner in Africa.
President Hu is expected to sign a bilateral accord with his Namibian counterpart, Hifikepunye Pohamba. Trade between China and South Africa has grown rapidly since diplomatic ties were established nine years ago.
Mr Hu, who has already visited Zambia and Sudan, will also travel to South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles. However, China's commercial success is causing African concern about a flood of cheap imports, correspondents say.
But correspondents say that there is rising local concern about China's commercial success in Namibia. Mr Hu, on a 12-day tour of African states, arrives from Namibia where he announced a package of development aid for the mineral-rich nation.
Mineral-rich Mr Hu praised the "brotherly friendship" shown by a "young country full of vitality and talent".
Chinese companies, they say, are unburdened by Namibia's minimum wages and labour laws and frequently undercut local construction companies. Namibia's President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, has encouraged co-operation and trade between the two nations.
President Hu is on a 12-day tour of Africa aimed at strengthening economic and political ties. Tourism boost
During a weekend trip to Zambia, he pledged $800m (£407m, 618m euros) of investment in the country and the setting up of a special economic zone in its mineral-rich copper belt. Trade between Namibia and China increased by over 100% from a year earlier in the first 11 months of 2006.
Chinese companies will be able to operate there without having to pay import or value added taxes. The two presidents signed agreements on economic and technical co-operation as well as deals to boost the number of Chinese tourists who visit the country.
The government contends the deal will benefit Zambia, but the opposition says China is exploiting local workers. Mr Hu, who has already visited Zambia and Sudan, will also travel to Mozambique and the Seychelles as part of his 12-day African tour aiming to boost economic ties.
China has already invested in mines and factories across Zambia. His next stop, South Africa, is China's key trade partner on the continent.
Partners or colonisers? Imports and exports increased by 30% in 2005. But with China still enjoying a huge trade surplus, there has been concern about cheap Chinese imports, especially in the textile industry.
Beijing also agreed to write off part of Zambia's bilateral debt to China, said President Levy Mwanawasa. Investment
President Hu said his country was "looking for strategic and mutual friendship" in Africa. A new quota system is designed to give South African garment manufacturers a chance to recover over the next three years.
China's economic power has been condemned by some Zambian workers and the opposition. But with high levels of unemployment, South Africa would like to see greater Chinese investment that offers a long-term future for local workers, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says.
"They are out to colonise Africa economically and also to get Africa's solidarity at the United Nations," Patriotic Front General Secretary Guy Scott told Reuters news agency. There is also some concern in other African states about China's commercial might.
A decision by Chinese owners to close Zambia's largest textile firm prompted unrest last month. In Namibia, for example, Chinese companies are unburdened by minimum wages and labour laws and frequently undercut local construction companies, correspondents note.
While in Khartoum on Friday Mr Hu agreed on a series of deals with Sudan, which China has protected from UN sanctions over the Darfur conflict. Last week, during a visit to Sudan, Mr Hu agreed on a series of deals with Sudan, which China has protected from UN sanctions over the Darfur conflict.