Dos Santos starts the four-day tour with talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said.

The trip, the president's second in five months to one of Angola's top economic partners, comes as the west African nation is being forced to re-evaluate its budget following the drop in oil prices.

"The president is making this visit to appeal for more financial investment from China," a senior Angolan official told AFP.

"The water sector needs a lot of investment and this is the next big area the government is working on and it hopes the Chinese will be able to help with the financing."

Dos Santos is also hoping to use Chinese financing to fulfil his promise during September's parliamentary elections to build one million homes, the official added.

China has been a key financial partner for Angola as it rebuilds its infrastructure after decades of civil war.

While loans from the Asian giant are officially believed to exceed four billion dollars (three million euros), a government source told AFP it was closer to seven billion dollars.

Much of the cash is oil-backed and Angola is now China's largest supplier of crude oil. Around 40,000 Angolan visas were issued to Chinese workers last year.

Following his meetings with Hu on Wednesday, dos Santos will meet with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and China's parliamentary head on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.

Dos Santos will be joined by his Foreign Minister Assuncao dos Anjos, Finance Minister Severim de Morais, and Transport Minister Augusto Tomas, the state news agency ANGOP reported.

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