BEIJING : With genocide, oil, aid and booming trade just some of the issues on his agenda, Chinese President Hu Jintao has departed for a pressure-packed 12 days traversing eight African nations.

Hu's trip, his third to Africa since becoming president in 2003, is part of China's mission to deepen political and economic ties on the continent.

Emphasising its commitment to Africa, China said on Monday that it would write off debts owed by 33 African countries as part of a multi-billion-dollar pledge made last year to help fast-track the continent's development.

China's courting of Africa has caused tremors in the West in recent years as Chinese influence there has risen significantly.

While Western businesses have seen Chinese firms secure contracts to exploit Africa's natural resources, human rights groups and some governments have urged China to stop co-operating with regimes accused of human rights abuses.

But China has made no apologies for its policy of engagement with Africa and Hu has chosen on this trip to visit Sudan, where a four-year conflict in its western Darfur region has been described by the United States as genocide.

While insisting China would continue its military co-operation with a Sudanese government accused of war crimes, Chinese officials said it was hoped Hu's visit to Sudan could help lead to a lasting peace in Darfur.

"I believe this visit will not only boost bilateral ties, but also peace and stability in this region," assistant foreign minister Zhai Jun, who travelled to Sudan's capital, Khartoum, ahead of Hu's trip, told journalists last week.

Hu will start his African journey in Cameroon, then travel to Liberia, with Sudan the third leg of his visit.

He will also travel to Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles.

While many in the West have viewed deepening China-African ties warily, Beijing is adamant that its policies are helping to drive development on the continent.

Trade between the two sides reached 55.5 billion dollars last year, a more than five-fold increase from 10.79 billion dollars in 2001, according to official Chinese figures.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said last year he hoped Sino-African trade would reach 100 billion dollars by 2010.

While China's interest in Africa's oil and other natural resources has drawn most attention, Chinese firms have also invested heavily in infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.

At a historic summit in November last year that brought leaders from 48 African nations to Beijing, Hu pledged to double aid to the continent and offer five billion dollars in loans and credits by 2009.

"China will forever be a good friend, good partner and good brother of Africa," Hu said when he opened the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

While China has not said how much aid it actually gives Africa, its November pledge allowed for five billion dollars of preferential loans and credit to the continent. - AFP /dt