China launched a special fund of US$1 billion to finance trade and investment by local companies in Africa on Tuesday, a fresh effort to facilitate Sino-African business relations.

The China-Africa Development Fund is financed by the China Development Bank and will eventually expand to US$5 billion.

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The fund was launched at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's top legislature in downtown Beijing.

At a Shanghai meeting of the African Development Bank in May, Zhou Xiaochuan, president of the central bank, the People's Bank of China, stressed that China and Africa should strengthen financial cooperation.

He said in addition to continuing to develop traditional trade, China should also pay more attention to Africa's sustainable economic development.

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