Bolivia, China team up on communications satellite

Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales signed an agreement on Thursday that paves the way for the acquisition of a $300 million Chinese telecommunications satellite, the latest sign of deepening ties between the resource rich Andean country and commodity-hungry China. The Morales government announced earlier this week that China will provide Bolivia with a $67 million loan to build infrastructure in the mineral-rich Oruro region and transportation equipment worth $2.6 million to the Bolivian armed forces. Other recent deals have included a $60 million loan from China late last year, part of which will be used to purchase natural gas drilling rigs. Bolivia has also announced plans to buy six Chinese light military aircraft worth $58 million to fight cocaine traffickers. "Now the President, the Vice President and the Finance Minister have to guarantee the funds, so that we can sign a contract and ... in three years, as the technicians are saying, we'll launch the Tupac Katari satellite," Morales said after signing the deal in La Paz.