Feb 13 (Reuters) - China, stepping up its investment drive in Africa, plans to pursue new infrastructure deals in Democratic Republic of Congo following last month's signing of a multi-billion dollar accord giving Chinese companies major mining rights. China's government and its state-controlled companies have invested billions of dollars in Africa to secure natural resources for the Asian giant's growing economy and build Beijing's political influence in the developing world. Here is a chronology of recent deals: Jan 2006 - China's top offshore oil producer CNOOC agrees to pay $2.3 billion for a stake in a Nigerian oil and gas field, its largest ever overseas acquisition. April 2006 - Chinese President Hu Jintao wraps up an Africa tour by concluding an offshore exploration deal with Kenya. The pact allows CNOOC to explore in six blocks covering 115,343 sq km (44,500 sq miles) in the north and south of Kenya. Two days earlier Beijing strikes a $4 billion deal for drilling licences in Nigeria, that inludes Chinese grants for economic and technical cooperation, anti-malarial medicine and rice. Nov 2006 - At a summit for African nations in Beijing, China and Africa sign 16 agreements worth a total of $1.9 billion. The deals between 12 Chinese firms and 11 African governments and companies, followed Hu's pledge offering $5 billion in loans and credit, and doubling aid by 2009. Feb 2007 - Hu begins another tour of Africa, signing multimillion-dollar accords with Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles, and cancelling debt in several countries. Sept 2007 - Shenzhen Energy Investment announces plans to team up with an Africa development fund set up by China to build a 200-megawatt gas-fired plant in Ghana costing 1.03 billion yuan ($137.2 million). China launched the fund in June with initial capital of $1 billion. Sept 2007 - China offers the Democratic Republic of Congo a $5 billion loan and infrastructure development package, which includes $3 billion for strategic highway and railroad projects linking DRC's mineral-rich interior to its southern neighbours and to Atlantic shipping routes. The remaining $2 billion would go to revive the country's mining sector. Oct 2007 - China's biggest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, agrees to pay $5.6 billion for 20 percent of South Africa's Standard Bank, the biggest foreign purchase by a Chinese commercial bank. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
A woman holds a placard next to a blindfolded woman during a protest against China's treatment of animals in front of the Chinese embassy in Lisbon February 13, 2008. The placard ...
