(From Benjamin Mensah, GNA Special Correspondent, Beijing, China)

Beijing (China), Sept 21, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills, on the third-day of his state visit to China, has appealed to his host to increase her investment in Ghana for mutual benefits and to accelerate the country's socio-economic development.

He paid tribute to China for her support to Ghana when she seemed to have been abandoned by her traditional allies, and said it was time Ghana and the rest of Africa took advantage of Chinese collaboration to impact positively on their economies and fastrack the emergence of the Continent as an economic giant.

President Mills told a China-Ghana business forum, organised by the China Development Bank (CBD) and the Ghana Embassy in China, that China had blazed the trail in her development, and threw an open arm to Chinese investors to maximise their investment in Ghana's economy. He said his Administration would in no way move away from its mandate to use the resources of the state to the benefit of the people and to improve their living standards.

President Mills, accompanied by a powerful delegation of Ministers, Ghanaian entrepreneurs and business people, is in China for a five-day official visit, which began last Sunday.

The visit has so far sealed a deal for China to give Ghana a three billion dollar loan for the development of her oil and gas and ancillary sectors, in addition to a 260 million dollar preferential buyers credit for the expansion of the Kpong Water Works Project, as well as another loan of $150 million for Ghana's e-governance project.

Relations between Accra and Beijing dates back 50 years, and have been strengthened further in recent times with the growing friendly ties between the two Presidents, John Atta Mills of Ghana, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, both of whom ten years ago served as Vice Presidents of their respective countries and paid visits to each other's country to concluded a number of agreements then.

Ten years on, the two nations are getting closer for deeper collaboration, and the Ghanaian President commended China for maintaining its ties with Ghana "at a time when many nations would not have anything to do with us."

"Our Chinese brothers stood behind us and showed that they cared," President Mills said, attracting an applause from the audience. He assured the Chinese Goverment that its assistance would be used judiciously to improve the standard of living of the Ghanaian people. President Mills reiterated that Government would in no way sway from the "Better Ghana" agenda and the mandate to transform the lives of Ghanaians as it invested in people, built a viable economy and ran an open, honest and transparent government.

He added that Government would create the enabling environment for the growth of private business and investment in the Ghanaian economy. Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industries, spoke of the numerous investment opportunities in Ghana, singling out for mention the pharmaceutical industry as an area worth exploring.

She explained that the focus of Government was to enhance the investment environment, and invited investors to go into the area of value addition to raw materials, and to use Ghana as a point to venture into other markets in Africa.

Ms Tetteh said Ghana had a safe environment, with a friendly investment code where they could obtain 100 per cent business ownership in addition to other concessions. Mr Zheng Zhija, Vice President of the CDB, called on Ghanaian enterprises to promote trade and industries between the two nations. 21 Sept 10