China will further expand telecom cooperation with African nations in line with mutual benefits and common development, a top official with China's Ministry of Commerce said here Friday.

    "Moreover, the Chinese government will support its telecom enterprises to run more telecom services in Africa," Assistant Minister of Commerce Chen Jian told the opening ceremony of the China-Africa Ministerial Workshop for Telecommunication.

    Amidst the rapid expansion of Sino-African trade, the telecom cooperation between the two sides also boasted broad prospect, Chen said.

    China has conducted various telecom cooperation, including technical service, equipment export and operation services, with more than 20 African countries, Chen said.

    Major Chinese telecom enterprises, such as Huawei Technologies Co. and Zhongxing Telecom Co. Ltd, have already stepped into the African market and signed a number of deals thanks to their competitive edge in price, product performance and technological advantages.

    "Overseas markets have attracted attention of the Chinese telecom corporations, including telecom operators," Chen stressed,adding the more cooperation is projected to be carried out in the area.

    In the first ten months of this year, China exported telecom products worthy 317 million US dollars, a year-on-year surge of 51percent.

    Also in the first ten months, Sino-African trade totaled 23.12 billion US dollars, a rise of 54.3 percent.

    The 11-day ministerial workshop was the first ever meeting in telecom industry between China and African nations. Algeria, Egypt,Ethiopia, Mauritania, Niger, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania. Togo, Tunisia and Zimbabwe officials attended the meeting.