The Angola Chamber of Commerce in Macau (CCAMO) argued today that the announced closure of the Angolan Consulate-General in the territory represents a “setback” that harms business relations and is a “contradiction” given the strengthening of Sino-African cooperation.
“Obviously, from our perspective, it is a setback to what we had, especially since the consulate was doing relatively important work, namely in establishing relations between Angolan entrepreneurs and local businesspeople,” the president of the CCAMO general assembly told Lusa.
According to Pedro Lobo, the decision will “obviously harm, to some extent, the development currently taking place in relations between China and Africa.”
The news regarding the closure of the diplomatic representation in Macau was reported by Jornal de Angola, following an announcement by the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. The ministry is reducing staff at diplomatic missions and closing four consulates: Macau (China), New York (United States), Rotterdam (Netherlands), and Montevideo (Uruguay).
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“The process arises from an excess of diplomatic and administrative personnel in external representations, combined with an insufficient budget allocated by the Ministry of Finance to cover the costs of diplomatic missions,” wrote Jornal de Angola, quoting the Angolan Secretary of State for Administration, Finance, and Assets, Osvaldo Varela, in Windhoek, Namibia.
Lobo indicated that this measure makes contact with the authorities in Luanda “quite complicated.” Any consular support or clarification of doubts will now have to be handled at the consulate in Guangzhou (Canton) or the Angolan Embassy in Beijing.
In 2018, the possibility of closing the Angolan diplomatic representation in Macau was previously raised but did not ultimately occur.
“It leaves us a bit concerned, especially because China itself has recently opened zero-tariff rates to several African countries, which makes it seem like a bit of a contradiction for Angola to be closing consulates at this time,” Pedro Lobo noted.
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Starting this month, China began applying zero tariffs to African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations to expand the access of African products to the Chinese market. This measure was announced in an official statement released in April at the conclusion of Mozambican President Daniel Chapo’s visit to Beijing, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated for strengthening cooperation with Mozambique and deepening coordination among developing nations.
Lobo reflected that this initiative by Beijing demonstrates “an obvious strategy of helping not only African countries with economic development but also a strategy of investing in the African market.”
Regarding CCAMO’s work, the president of the general assembly mentioned that the institution has sought to bring entrepreneurs from Macau and mainland China closer to partners in Angola and to reactivate relations that were suspended during the pandemic.
“Things were quite advanced before COVID-19, and now we are trying to recover those relationships. At this moment, this cut to our consulate makes things a bit more complicated,” he lamented.
