By Joe Bavier GOMA, Congo, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Traditional donors are not giving enough to rebuild wartorn Democratic Republic of Congo and the country is ready for new partnerships after securing $5 billion from China, President Joseph Kabila said on Thursday. Two days ahead of a summit between African and European leaders in Portugal, Kabila lauded the loan and infrastructure development package signed in September with China, which is to be repaid in part with valuable mineral concessions. "For the first time in our history, the Congolese people will finally see what their cobalt, nickel, and copper are good for," he said, addressing the nation on the first anniversary of his swearing in after historic polls last year. "That is the spirit of the agreements with the Chinese. They were concluded in complete transparency, and we are ready to conclude similar agreements with other partners," he said. The EU remains Africa's largest trading partner, with total trade of more than 200 billion euros ($296 billion) in 2006, but China jumped into third place last year with 43 billion. EU leaders hope to reinforce ties with the poorest continent by improving cooperation in areas like trade, immigration and peacekeeping, and moving away from dependence-inducing aid. International donors meeting in Paris last week promised $4 billion for Congo for 2008-10, most of it new funding. However, Kabila said the level of assistance provided by Congo's traditional European and North American partners falls short of the country's needs. "Taking into account the financial deficit to fill and given the disbursement procedures, it does not respond to our pressing debts," he said. Congo's debt stood at around $11.5 billion at the end of last year, and much of the country's meagre 2007 budget of around $2.5 billion has gone towards paying it off. The China deal, announced by Congolese and Chinese officials in September, earmarks $3 billion for strategic highway and railroad projects linking Congo's mineral-rich interior to its southern neighbours and Atlantic shipping routes. The remaining $2 billion targets the revival of the former Belgian colony's once-mighty mining sector -- a treasure trove of copper, cobalt, gold, nickel, uranium and diamonds still to be fully tapped -- whose production has been decimated by war, foreign invasions and years of graft, pilfering and neglect. The accord comes with a promise of a possible $3.5 billion more. If fully disbursed, it will be one of the biggest financial commitments of China's enthusiastic foray into Africa. (Editing by Alistair Thomson)
