President Hu Jintao's France-Africa tour stopped in Algeria, where he was present for the signing of a framework energy agreement and several accords regarding research and educational exchanges and economic and technical cooperation.
The agreements benefit both sides as China scrambles to find energy to sustain its economic boom and Algeria seeks to fuel economic growth via an expansion of its energy exports. Hydrocarbons constituted 96% of Algeria's export revenues in 2003.
China also granted Algeria what it termed a "preferential loan" of US$48 million that was tied to a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation.