The President of the People’s Republic of China marked this Tuesday in the South African capital, Pretoria, a “new historic starting point” in strategic cooperation with South Africa, after a meeting with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Today, when we meet a new historical starting point, passing on friendship, deepening cooperation and strengthening coordination are the common aspirations of our two countries, but also the important missions entrusted to us over the centuries,” Xi Jinping told the press, after the signing of various cooperation instruments in the Union Buildings presidential palace, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which begins this Tuesday.
Xi reaffirmed China’s support for South Africa to play “a strategic role on the international stage,” adding that Beijing stands ready to strengthen trade relations with the African country and encourage Chinese companies to do business with South Africa.
For his part, the host head of state, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared that Pretoria and Beijing “reaffirmed their political support for issues of common interest.”
“We also agree to deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, infrastructure development, energy, tourism, education and training, and digital technologies,” the South African leader advanced, adding that “China is the largest South Africa’s trading partner. and South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa.”
President Ramaphosa also indicated that he discussed with his Chinese counterpart “the need to reduce the trade deficit between South Africa and China, and that one of the ways to do this is to ensure greater market access for South African export products.” added African products for the Chinese market”.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, Pretoria and Beijing “will consult closely on issues of common interest, including in the context of the BRICS, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation [FOCAC]the G7 plus China and the G20,” he said.
The two leaders also discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine and its major impact on the developing economies of Africa and other countries, Ramaphosa stressed, stressing: “We both agree on the importance of dialogue and negotiation between the two parties” for the resolution. of the conflict. .
The South African head of state also thanked Xi Jinping for the support of the Asian country to “help South Africa out of its paralyzing crisis of load shedding”, in reference to the usual power cuts that affect the country on a daily basis.
“This includes the donation of emergency power equipment worth R167 million. [5,1 milhões de euros] and a donation of around 500 million rand. [24,1 milhões de euros] in development aid,” Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters.
“Energy cooperation with China is a recent development that we seek to deepen, particularly in line with our respective commitments to low-carbon and climate-resilient development,” the South African president said.
Relations between South Africa and China are underpinned by a 10-year Strategic Cooperation Program (2020-2029), concluded in 2019.
South Africa was the first African country to sign the ‘Belt and Road’ cooperation instrument with the People’s Republic of China, being China’s largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years, as well as being one of the African countries with the highest volume of Chinese investment.
According to Pretoria, bilateral trade between the two countries has grown exponentially, from less than 1 billion rand (48.2 million euros) in 1998 to more than 614 billion rand (29.6 billion euros) in 2022. .
Xi visited South Africa in 2018, where he participated in the BRICS summit, which was held in Johannesburg to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of historic leader Nelson Mandela.
In 2013, Xi met his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma in Pretoria, where the two leaders discussed strengthening the strategic partnership established in 2010. During his state visit to South Africa, he also attended the BRICS summit, at the port city of Durban, in the southeast of the country.
South Africa was invited to join the BRIC block -then formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China- on December 24, 2010 and, on April 14, 2011, the then South African president, Jacob Zuma, participated in the third summit of the BRICS. in Sanya, China.
Relations between the African National Congress (ANC), in power since 1994 in South Africa, and the People’s Republic of China, date back to the 1960s, when the then vice-president of the former Liberation Movement, Oliver Tambo, traveled to Beijing to obtain military support for the armed struggle launched by the ANC against the former segregationist “apartheid” regime after the Sharpeville student massacre in 1960.
Source: TSF
