Algeria, China sign 19 agreements during Tebboune's visit, including energy, technology

Algiers and Beijing signed 19 cooperation agreements on Tuesday during Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s official visit to China where he met with his counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Tebboune arrived in Beijing on Monday for a state visit, where he was accompanied by an entourage of ministers and businessmen. Among the delegation were Algeria’s foreign, finance, energy, housing and trade ministers.

Xi received Tebboune and his delegation at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to discuss bilateral relations. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the agreements were in sectors including aerospace, agriculture, energy, railway transportation, science and technology. There were also agreements in education and sports, as well as telecommunications, sustainable urban development, trade, and inspection and quarantine.

Citing Algerian government sources, the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the ministerial talks focused on developing renewable energy.

Tebboune congratulated the Chinese Communist Party for giving Xi a new term as president of China, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

He said his country was ready to play “an active part” in Belt and Road cooperation and deepen economic ties with China. 

Tebboune also made his country's pitch to become a member of BRICS, the powerful five-country alliance of which China is a member and that is often seen as an alternative to Western hegemony. 

Algeria and China are long-time allies, with the latter helping the North African country achieve independence from France in the early 1960s. Over the last six decades, China has dispatched more than 3,500 medical workers to Algeria — which saw an exodus of foreign health workers after independence — treating over 27 million people and delivering over 2.7 million babies, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

“China will work more closely with Algeria on health care, continue to provide government scholarships to Algeria, and promote friendly cooperation in media, tourism, youth, sports and think tanks to cement public support for the bilateral ties,” the ministry said in a statement.

Algerian imports from China have been on the rise, with the total growing from $400 million in 2003 to $8 billion in 2022.

Tebboune visited Russia, another long-term ally, last month. The North African country has not publicly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has supported China’s claim over Taiwan’s sovereignty.