Algiers and Beijing signed 19 cooperation agreements on Tuesday during Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to China where he met with President Xi Jinping.
Tebboune arrived on Monday in China for a state visit. He was accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and businessmen, signaling a new dynamism in Algeria's relations with its historic partners, including Russia.
The Algeria Press Service (APS) said the agreements include cooperation across sectors like railway transportation, technology transfer, and agricultural collaboration.
The two countries agreed on forming an expert team to encourage economic and investment collaboration.
The agreements also included a trade cooperation treaty and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Chinese Academy of Governance and the Algerian Ministry of Interior and Local Authorities.
They also signed an MoU for technical cooperation in animal and plant quarantine.
The agreements included an executive program for cooperation and exchange in scientific research, an MoU for judiciary sector collaboration, and another on cooperation in social development and the renewable and hydrogen energy sectors.
Algerian government sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministerial talks focused on developing renewable energies and enhancing capacities by supporting the Algerian project on applied research with renewable energies.
Ahead of signing the agreements, Xi received Tebboune and his accompanying delegation at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to discuss bilateral relations, according to the APS.
Tebboune congratulated Xi on his re-election as Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party and expressed his gratitude for China's support for Algeria's bid to join the BRICS group.
Algeria imported $105 billion worth of goods and services from China between 2003 and 2022. The imports stood at $400 million in 2003, rising to $8 billion in 2022.
Tebboune visited Moscow a month ago and signed several agreements with President Vladimir Putin.
At the time, Algerian newspapers highlighted the deep bilateral relations with Beijing, which date back to the time of Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was the last Algerian president to visit China back in 2008.
China was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Algeria in 1962, and during the 1954-1962 revolution, Beijing supported the Algerian Interim Government and its efforts to discuss the “Algerian cause” before the UN and various international bodies.
