(Umbrella) Chinese Government pledges to provide agricultural aid following resumption of diplomatic relations with STP (Linked to Record ID#55550, #56526, #55575, #56546)

In December 2016, São Tomé and Príncipe and China resumed diplomatic relations after 20-years of separation as a result of São Tomé and Príncipe's support for Taiwan. From April 11 to April 17 in 2017, the two countries signed an extensive 5-year cooperation agreement. One of the sectors prioritized for Chinese aid in the agreement was agriculture.

Accordingly, China has undertaken multiple agricultural development projects since this agreement was signed.

It is not known exactly where the funding for these projects originates or their overall cost, but it is likely that the funds come from the initial 2017 agreement. At least five individual agricultural projects have received Chinese backing through this support.

These include assistance and training for animal husbandry (#55550), development of a Hybrid Corn Field project (#55553), animal husbandry project & biogas (#55575), and the dispatch of agricultural experts for general development (#56526) as well as the training of STP agricultural experts (#56546).

Additionally, China's aid package is likely to include a debt cancellation of an estimated $17.3 million in bilateral debt (#55467).