China and Brazil will provide satellite observation data for African countries through a joint space program, according to agreements inked in Beijing on Wednesday.

The Earth receiving stations of Hartebeeshoek in South Africa, Aswan in Egypt and Maspaloms in Spain will process and distribute data from the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-02B (CBERS-02B) to African states.

"It's also for the first time China became an exporter of Earth observation data," said Guo Jianning, general director of the China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application.

Before that, China could only buy or share processed information such as satellite pictures from or with other countries, he said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the last leg of his three-day China tour, witnessed the signing of the agreements at the Chinese space center in the northwest suburb of Beijing.

"Those agreements indicated the support and importance China and Brazil attached to African countries, which is also an example of science and technology cooperation between developing countries," Guo said.

The CBERS project was kicked off in 1988 and the first CBERS satellite was launched in 1999. So far, there are three CBERS satellites in space and a fourth one is scheduled to be sent into space in 2011.

Those satellites served for gathering information about land use, agricultural products estimation, water resources investigation, mine exploration, laying out of urban area, environmental protection and monitoring of coast.

"The CBERS satellites have become an important data source for the world and we will continue and expand cooperation with Brazil, as well as some other countries that have show interest," said Zhang Qingjun, top Chinese designer of the CBERS project.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2009)