Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is in China looking for money to resuscitate his country’s economy which has been badly battered by weak oil prices.

It is understood that in his meeting with the Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday, Dos Santos requested money for projects that will include a $4.5 billion hydropower scheme. According to Reuters, construction giant, China Gezhouba, has been awarded the tender for the project.

The project which will be completed in six years will be funded by debts from Chinese banks.

“China and Angola are good brothers and long term strategic partners,” Reuters quoted Xi as having told dos Santos at the couple’s first meeting on Tuesday.

Xi promised that the country would urge more Chinese firms to pour more money into Africa’s second biggest oil producer.

China’s relationship with Angola dates back to over a decade. China currently buys about half of the southern African nation’s 1.7 million barrels daily oil output.

Georges Chikoti, the Angolan foreign minister, said Dos Santos was looking for financial support for “priority projects”.

“These are projects in the financial industry, high education, energy, training and agriculture.”

Oil prices slumped to a six-year low of $45 per barrel at the beginning of the year. Although drop in US crude supply and a weaker dollar have made prices to climb, this may not last long due to OPEC’s decision to maintain output and a possible increase in production from Iran following nuclear talks.