Ghanaian president arrives in Beijing for China-Africa summit

Ghanaian President John Kufuor (L Front) shakes hands with a girl greeting him upon his arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Nov. 2, 2006. John Kufuor is in Beijing for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which is scheduled for Nov. 4-5. (Xinhua Photo)

Ghanaian President John Kufuor arrived in Beijing on Thursday for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on the China-Africa Cooperation.

A total of 48 African countries with diplomatic relations with China are to attend the two-day summit, which is scheduled to open on Nov. 4.

"It (the conference) will be very significant because... we will talk openly and frankly to each other, with a view to explore better chances of getting benefits both on the African side as well as for the Chinese side," Kufuor said in an interview with Xinhua before he left for the summit.

Ghana and China restored diplomatic relations in February 1972. Kufuor visited China in 2002, while Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Ghana in 2006.

Ghana is a destination country for Chinese citizens and tourist groups. China now ranks as the second largest exporter to Ghana, after Nigeria, with bilateral trade reaching 769 million U.S. dollars in 2005.