China will assist Zimbabwe to build an agro-tech experimenting center this year, an official with the Chinese Embassy said on Thursday.

Hu Ming, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, said preparations for the construction of the center were in full swing, as the two governments had signed an agreement on the project on April 21, when a high-ranking Chinese delegation headed by Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was paying a four-day visit in Zimbabwe.

According to the agreement, the Chinese government will provide the necessary farming materials and send technical personnel who are experts on maize growing.

The cooperative project will be completed in the coming three years.

This was the first major agreement signed between the two governments on cooperation in agricultural sector, Hu said, adding that it will advance the cooperation of mutual benefit to a new level.

He said it will also boost the agricultural production of Zimbabwe in the future to secure the food.

During the Beijing Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum last November, President Hu Jintao announced that China would help African countries build 10 pilot agricultural technology centers in the next three years.

(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2007)