Guinea-Bissau PR kicks off China visit with cooperation on agenda

This Wednesday, Guinea’s president begins a three-day visit to China with infrastructure construction, agriculture and fisheries, bringing Beijing and Bissau closer together in a model of cooperation between the Asian country and developing countries.

Umaro Sissoko Embalo’s China itinerary includes meetings with Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as well as a visit to the Beijing-based China Aluminum Corporation.

On Thursday, the head of the Guinean state will travel to the economic “capital” of the Asian country, Shanghai, where he will meet with representatives of the local government, visit the Research Institute of the Chinese technology group Huawei and the university city of Songjiang.

In 2021, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries construction have brought Beijing and Bissau closer together under a model of cooperation between an Asian country and developing countries.

Dubbed the “project of the century” by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the initiative was initially pitched in Kazakhstan as a new economic corridor for Eurasia inspired by the ancient Silk Road. Over the past decade, however, the Belt and Road has taken on a global dimension, with more than 150 countries around the world joining the program.

China and Guinea-Bissau established diplomatic relations in 1974, but they were interrupted between 1990 and 1998. During this interruption, the Guinean government recognized the Republic of China or Taiwan as a sovereign state to the detriment of the People’s Republic of China.

Trade between the two countries is one-way: in 2023, China exported about $60 million (€55 million), mainly polished rice, portable communication stations and shoes, while China’s imports amounted to about $2,000 (€1,800), the main products being machine parts, according to Chinese customs.