China and Africa unleashed their economic potential Sunday, signing more than a dozen trade deals worth US$1.9 billion (¤1.49 billion), while a Chinese company announced a US$8.3 billion (¤6.5 billion) contract to build a railway in Nigeria. Chinese companies signed 14 agreements with African governments and companies at the conclusion of a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The deals cover infrastructure, resources, construction, telecommunications and finance, Xinhua said. The conference was held on the sidelines of a two-day forum attended by dozens of African leaders and aimed at boosting ties between the two sides, as China _ the world's fastest growing economy _ seeks to expand its access to Africa's oil and markets. Separately, China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. said it signed a deal on Oct. 30 with Nigeria's transport ministry to build a railway in the West African country, the continent's largest oil producer. The 1,315-kilometer (817-mile) railway will link the southern city of Lagos with Kano in the north. The railway is China's largest overseas engineering project by value, the company said in a statement on its Web site.
