China's top legislature began deliberating on Tuesday a bill to ratify an extradition treaty with Angola. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill this Saturday.

Angola attaches great importance to judicial cooperation with China. In 2005 it proposed an extradition treaty, said Wu Dawei, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, at the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.

"Ratification of the treaty will help cement bilateral ties, and also contribute to a framework for bilateral judicial cooperation. We should consider making a positive response", Wu told the Chinese lawmakers.

The treaty was signed in Luanda last June. Its 22 articles cover the reliability of extradition procedures, types of criminal suspects that can and should be extradited, and exemption clauses.

China forged diplomatic relations with Angola in January 1983. Angola has since become a strategic partner for China and also one of the country's top trade partners in Africa. Bilateral cooperation in military, cultural and educational sectors has boomed in recent years.

Source: Xinhua