During Premier Li Keqiang's tour of Africa, he promised to quadruple investment and strengthen trade ties in the continent, and this was illustrated during his four-nation tour to Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya.

Premier Li kicked off his first tour of Africa this year in Ethiopia. On May 7-8, Li met with officials in the capital Addis Ababa. They discussed future infrastructure investments at the headquarters of the African Union, built by Chinese construction firms.

Chinese ministers and company executives from Li's 129-member delegation signed 16 deals with their Ethiopian counterparts. These included loans and agreements for the construction of roads and industrial zones. The Huajian Group which deals in shoe manufacturing is also set to employ more than 100,000 Ethiopians in the next 10 years.

Li then travelled to its third-biggest trading partner in Africa, Nigeria, where he met for talks with President Goodluck Jonathan and attended the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa. On May 9 he called for the strengthening of traditional ties between China and Nigeria as well as exploring new areas for cooperation in aviation and aerospace.

Li also pledged to assist Nigeria in its fight against Islamic militant group Boko Haram, by providing any useful information from China's satellites and intelligence services.

The third leg of Li's tour was Angola, which has the biggest Chinese community and number of companies from China in Africa. The two countries penned agreements in the fields of energy, finance and manufacturing among others.

Li called for partnerships between Chinese and Angolan aviation companies in regional flights and Angola's Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company to build "mega-infrastructures". Li wrapped up his two-day visit to the south-west nation by donating $29 million in aid.

The premier's last stop was Kenya- signing agreements which touched on various parts of the Kenyan economy, such as energy and agriculture, as well as its diplomatic relations with China.

A highlight of the raft of agreements signed, is the multi-billion dollar standard gauge railway project, expected to boost trade links between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. China will fund 90 percent of the first-phase from the port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, expected to cost $3.6 billion.

Another major project is a multi-million dollar China-Africa Research Centre. $10 million-worth of financial support was pledged for wildlife conservation in Kenya and the wider continent. Li also said his government would assist in the repatriation of Somali refugees, as part of China's efforts to boost security in the region.

(CNTV.cn May 12, 2014)