Ghanaian President John Kufuor said on Wednesday that he expected that as leaders from some 40 African countries converge in Beijing with Chinese leaders early next month, they will discuss how to explore tremendous business opportunities for mutual benefits.

They will focus on key issues including trade, technology transfer and investment during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) from Nov. 3-5, Kufuor said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"It (The conference) will be very significant because .. we will talk openly and frankly to each other, with a view to explore better chances of getting benefits both on the African side and on the Chinese side," said Kufuor, who will attend the summit, the highest-level and largest-scale meeting between Chinese and African leaders since China and African countries started to forge cooperative ties in the 1950s.

He said trade would be a big issue during the conference because the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks had not been advanced in protecting economic development and benefits of developing countries.

With China emerging as a world economic power, African countries "definitely" want to explore China-Africa trade possibilities, Kufuor said.

"China should buy from Africa and Africa should buy from China ..I'm talking about the win-win," he said.

Kufuor said the conference in Beijing would also look at the transfer of technology and expertise that are urgently needed by African countries for social and economic development.
 
"We want Chinese people not only come to (Africa to) trade, but also bring know-how technology, as well as capital, to share with us on the win-win base," he said while mentioning rapid growth of bilateral trade between the two countries.

Official statistics of Ghana showed that Chinese businesses have invested in the west African nation's manufacturing, service industry, tourism, construction and agriculture sectors by March 2006, ranking the eighth among foreign investors in Ghana in terms of investment volume.

The Beijing Summit will be held against the backdrop that China and Africa have constantly developed their relations over the past years. China released its first African policy paper early this year, putting forward its proposals for all-round cooperation with Africa in various fields in the coming years.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited 10 African countries in April and June this year respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2006)