Kabbah arrived in Zhengzhou on Tuesday, capital of central China's Henan Province for a two-day visit, after finishing the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and a short stay in central China's Hunan Province.

"I met with some Henan staff in Sierra Leone before coming here. I'm impressed by their sincerity. Many Henan enterprises areon good terms in Sierra Leone. I hope more will come." Kabbah said.

Sheng Jushan, General Manager of Henan Guoji Industry and Development Co., Ltd, told Xinhua they started an industrial and trade park near Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, in 2005. It has attracted dozens of small-and-medium sized enterprises from Henan that mainly focus on light industry and house-building.

"The local government has adopted some preferential tax policies. In November 2005, President Kabbah even attended the opening ceremony of a commodity festival held by the park." said Sheng.

China and Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations on July29, 1971, and bilateral trade is on a continuous increase in recent years, jumping from 8.1 million U.S. dollars in 2002 to 32.12 million dollars in 2005.

Since its establishment in 2000, FOCAC has been a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation between China and Africa. The latest Beijing Summit attracted 48 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China, focusing on "friendship, peace, cooperation and development".