VZCZCXRO3633
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0923/01 2540801
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110801Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4301
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0101
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000923 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/S AND EAP/CM 
USAID FOR AFR/SA (ELOKEN AND IMCNAIRN); ODP/BMD FOR 
NMICHELSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV EINV AO CH
SUBJECT: CHINESE ASSISTANCE TO ANGOLA FOCUSED ON HEALTH 
 
REF: LUANDA 326 
 
LUANDA 00000923  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  During an initial call on Counselor Ding 
Shan at the Chinese Embassy, the USAID Mission Director and 
Ding compared the U.S. and Chinese assistance efforts in 
Angola, which both emphasize health.  Ding also disclosed 
China will soon start sending "barefoot doctors" to work in 
Angola's province and has ongoing programs to train Angolan 
doctors, in Portuguese, in China's Sichuan Province.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On 23 August 2007, incoming USAID Mission 
Director, accompanied by Econoff, met with Chinese Embassy 
Counselor Shan Ding at the Chinese Embassy, as one of a 
series of visits to foreign assistance counterparts in 
Luanda.  The meeting provided an opportunity to compare U.S. 
and Chinese assistance programs in Angola and test the waters 
for future cooperation.  The Chinese program Ding described, 
like the USAID program, emphasizes health care, but also 
features training and providing skilled Chinese professionals 
to work in Angola. 
 
A Rapidly Growing Bilateral Relationship 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Ding described a Chinese official relationship 
with Angola that has evolved rapidly over the last 5 years, 
especially as Chinese construction firms have come to play a 
major role in rebuilding Angola's infrastructure.  Ding had 
met former Ambassador David Shinn the previous week, during 
Shinn's privately-sponsored tour of several African countries 
to research a planned report about Chinese influence in 
Africa.  Ding told Emboffs they discussed the potential for 
increased cooperation between China and the United States on 
agriculture and health. 
 
Chinese Assistance to Angola - Health 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  This year, China provided USD 400,000 to the GRA 
to help the fight against malaria, Marburg and other 
diseases.  Under a bilateral agreement, the funds purchase 
Chinese medical supplies and equipment.  One medication is a 
new anti-malaria drug developed in China, Ding said, called 
Qinghaosu in Chinese, Arteannuin in English  (Note:  Chengdu 
Okay Plant and Chemical Company has posted Arteannuin's 
chemical structure and scientific name on the web, describing 
it as an artemisinin.  End note.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  China is now building hospitals, health centers 
and schools in 16 of Angola's 18 provinces, and its program 
is evolving.  When Angolan Prime Minister Fernando dos 
Santos's visited Beijing in November 2006, he signed a 
bilateral agreement to bring Chinese doctors to serve 
two-year tours in Angola's rural areas, Ding explained.  The 
first group of 12 physicians should arrive in September 2007 
and will include two experts in Chinese traditional medicine, 
an acupuncturist, and a therapeutic masseur.  In addition, 
China last year trained 36 Angolan doctors in Sichuan 
Province, conducting their training in English and 
Portuguese, thanks to China's Portuguese-language institute 
in the province, Ding related. 
 
USAID Programs in Angola 
------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  USAID Director summarized the USG foreign 
assistance program in Angola, explaining its emphasis on 
health, especially efforts to combat malaria under the 
President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and AIDS under the 
President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR)  She 
explained that health initiatives account for over USD 24 
million of USAID's USD 35 million budget for Angola.  USAID 
Angola also works closely with private corporations in 
Angola, and they have increased USAID funding by USD 5 
million.  In addition to health programs, USAID also manages 
programs to encourage democracy and governance, and economic 
growth.  The last includes programs to improve access to 
credit and agricultural development, exactly the area where 
China and the United States hope to develop a common program. 
 
Ding on China's Impact 
---------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU)  Ding suggested that, unlike Western firms doing 
business in Angola, Chinese firms do not take on Corporate 
Social Responsibility programs while doing business in 
 
LUANDA 00000923  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Angola.  Although China's engagement, unlike USAID's, does 
not involve working with NGOs, Ding pointed to the visible 
Chinese construction firms and commercial enterprises, 
suggesting that they also benefit Angolan society through 
their engagement.  Ding expressed continued Chinese interest 
in a bilateral program as discussed reftel, but indicated he 
preferred to act on suggestions from the U.S. side. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Although the nature of China's assistance program to 
Angola presents challenges to designing a viable joint 
program, we will continue to meet with Ding and his 
counterparts to explore possibilities. 
FERNANDEZ