Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday pledged to forge closer economic and political ties with Angola.

"We will help the Angolan army in the defence of peace, the stability of national unity and the reconstruction of the country," said a statement released by the Chinese embassy in Luanda as Wen arrived in the southwestern African nation.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) visits African Union chairman and Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso in Republic of Congo's capital Brazzaville June 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Wen, the first senior Chinese leader to visit Angola, added that strengthening bilateral ties was in the "fundamental interests" of the two countries.

He was scheduled to hold talks with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos later on Tuesday.

Coming 23 years after China established diplomatic relations with Angola, Wen's visit is likely to yield economic deals and highlight what Angola's state media calls the country's "turn toward the East".

Wen's seven-nation African tour makes him the third high-ranking Chinese official to visit Africa in six months.

Angola is China's second largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade totalling nearly $7 billion in 2005 according to the Angolan government. The Africa nation recently supplanted Saudi Arabia as China's top crude oil supplier.

Angola wants access to Chinese capital to help rebuild an economy shattered by a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002.