China's national legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), on Friday voted to ratify an extradition treaty with Angola.

The 22-article treaty covers issues such as the types of criminal suspects that can and should be extradited and exemption clauses, the procedures and costs of extradition, and the settlement of disputes, among others.

The treaty was signed in Angolan capital Luanda in June 2006.

Lawmakers discussed the treaty at the 27th session of the NPC Standing Committee held in Beijing from April 24 to 27.

Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said that Angola attaches great importance to judicial cooperation with China. In 2005 it proposed an extradition treaty.

"Ratification of the treaty will help cement bilateral ties, and also contribute to a framework for bilateral judicial cooperation," Wu told Chinese lawmakers.

China forged diplomatic relations with Angola in January 1983. Angola has since become a strategic partner for China and also the country's top trading partner in Africa. Bilateral cooperation in trade, military, cultural and educational sectors has boomed in recent years.

Since 1993, China has signed extradition treaties with more than 20 countries, including Spain, Thailand, Laos, Belarus and South Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2007)