At the celebration of the 74th national day of China in Accra on Tuesday, she said Ghana’s export to China surged by 60 per cent within the same period.

With this year making 63 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, he said China remained Ghana’s largest trading

 partner and major foreign invest­ment source for years.

The celebration brought together Chinese officials and people as well as high ranking Ghanaian officials to celebrate the founding of the Asian country.

Mr Lu mentioned other Chinese investment in Ghana to include Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited Company, African World Airlines, steel company, ceramic company, cement factory, through which China had helped to create jobs and boosted industrialisation for Ghana.

He said last month, the Sentuo Oil Refinery Ltd, invested by a Chinese private company began operation, becoming the single largest investment in Ghana over the last decade.

Over the past 63 years of bilat­eral ties, he said China and Ghana had always supported each other and worked in solidarity, safeguard­ing the shared interests of the two countries and the Global South.

“We both cherish our sovereign­ty and independence, strive for progress and prosperity, and sup­port regional integration,” he said.

He said China had supported Ghana in the areas of health, maritime, agriculture, security, infrastructure, including the annex building of the Foreign Ministry and support for the International Monetary Fund deal.

On human resource develop­ment, he said apart from support­ing some institutions in Ghana, about 6,500 Ghanaian students were studying in China, ranking the second among all African countries for many consecutive years.

“There is a Chinese saying that goes: “When brothers are of the same mind, they have the power to cut through metal.” In the face of regional and international challeng­es, as long as China and Ghana stay together, we will surely bring prosperity for the two peoples. China-Ghana relation will become stronger and closer,” he said.

On the continental level, Mr Lu said Africa remained a diplomatic priority for China with China being Africa’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years.

“In the first seven months of this year, China’s trade with Africa hit around 150 billion US dollars. By the end of 2020, Chinese com­panies had invested more than 43 billion US dollars in Africa.”

The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, who represented Ghana, thanked China for its support for the so­cio-economic development of the country and pledged commitment to the mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.