As Uganda and China prepare to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties next month, the Chinese ambassador to Uganda has described the half a century relation as sincere and protective.

Ambassador Zhao Yali told Xinhua in a recent interview that Uganda has stood by China on critical issues on the international arena, a relationship he said is based on equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

"For example two years ago, when Uganda was elected as a non permanent member of the Security Council in the United Nations, the two countries had a very close cooperation and made contribution for the safe guarding of world peace," he said.

"In many elections of international organizations, the Ugandan government has rendered great support to China. For example when Madam Margaret Chan decided to run for re-election of the Director General of the World Health Organization, the Ugandan government supported the candidature of the Chinese government," he said.

Although China is one of Uganda's main development partners, according to Zhao, the Asian country will never dictate what development path the east African country should take.

He said Uganda should come up with a home grown development path to improve the livelihood of its people just as China did.

"We always respect African countries' independent choice of development paths suited to their national conditions, and we believe that African people have the ability and wisdom to find a right path for their own countries," he said.

"As friends, colleagues and brothers of the African people, we would like to share our experiences and lessons on development with African people. We will never interfere in internal affairs of African countries," he added.

Because of this deepening relation, more Chinese investors are picking interest in Uganda.

Statistics by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), the country's investment agency, showed that in 2010 China was the top source of Uganda's foreign direct investment.

China's investment quest in the financial year 2009/2010 saw UIA license 31 projects worth 246 million U.S. dollars.

Statistics from the Chinese embassy indicated that from 1993 to 2011, China's investment in Uganda totaled 596 million U.S. dollars and 265 Chinese firms opened business in Uganda, creating 28,000 job opportunities for the local people.

Last year, the amount of bilateral trade reached 400 million dollars, increasing by more than 40 percent from 2010.

"Bilateral economic cooperation and trade have maintained a sound momentum of growth," Zhao said.

Although the bilateral trade between the two countries is growing, the trade imbalance is high, which the Chinese government acknowledges.

"It is really a problem for us. The Chinese government always attaches great importance to address this problem. Through our continuous efforts, Uganda's exports to China last year reached 40 million dollars, jumping by 49.5 percent," Zhao said.

In order to promote Uganda's exports, the Chinese government has provided Uganda a free stall in China to market its products.

Besides this, China unilaterally canceled all the debts of interest free loans before 2005 for Uganda.

"From July 1 of this year, 95 percent of Ugandan goods could enter the Chinese market without duty and tariffs. China is making efforts to seek trade balance through development of bilateral economic and trade relation and willing to import more Ugandan products," Zhao said.

Chinese companies are also increasingly investment in Uganda. The latest is China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) exploring for oil in the Albertine Graben in western Uganda.

"We wish to help Uganda build a petrochemical industry system. China has accumulated many experiences in the oil industry and is willing to share with Uganda. In my view, the development of petrochemical industry is a breakthrough for Uganda to realize industrialization. It is also very important for the transformation of the society," said Zhao.

China is also involved in boosting Uganda's road construction, a key sector that economic experts said is critical in fast tracking the country's economy.

Road transport is by far the most dominant mode of transport in Uganda carrying over 95 percent of passenger and freight traffic. The national roads currently make up about 25 percent of the road network but carry over 80 percent of the total road traffic.

They also provide vital transport corridors to the land-locked countries of Rwanda and Burundi to parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan to the Indian Ocean.

However, according to statistics by the Uganda National Road's Authority, the country's body charged with overseeing road construction, out of the 20,000 km of the national roads, only 15 percent (2,914km) is paved or tarmac.

"The Ugandan government regards the infrastructure development as the priority among national development. China supports this initiative. According to a Chinese saying, people who want to be rich should build a road first," said Zhao.

Apart from ongoing and finished road works on major highways, China through a 350 million U.S. dollar loan to Uganda is set to embark on the construction of the country's first expressway linking the capital Kampala to Entebbe International Airport.

"China's assistance to Uganda demonstrates the friendship of Chinese people to Ugandan people. We adhere to the principles of mutual benefit and common development, making sure that our assistance is result oriented, without strings attached," said Zhao.

In and around the capital Kampala, China has donated various structures including Mandela National Stadium in Namboole, Uganda- China Friendship Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center, Uganda-China Friendship Hospital among others.

All these efforts are aimed at boost the relationship between these two countries, Zhao said.