TIANJIN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's first African logistics terminal, which is seen as an important development in Sino-Africa trade relations, opened on Wednesday in Tianjin, north China's biggest port city.

    The Tianjin Port GMT Africa International Logistics Terminal, located in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, covers an area of 60,000 square meters including a 5,500-square-meter warehouse.

    The terminal will deal with Sino-Africa imports and exports.

    Trade between China and Africa has witnessed rapid development in recent years. Statistics show Sino-Africa trade volume scored 55.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, up 40 percent over the same period of 2005.

    Sino-African trade volume through Tianjin port reached 3.36 million tons in 2006, up 63.3 percent year-on-year.