Relations between South Africa and China have entered a new era of opportunity, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday in his weekly newsletter following an official State Visit to the People’s Republic of China.
“During the state visit, China and South Africa agreed to upgrade our relationship to an All-Round Strategic Cooperative Partnership in a New Era. This signifies the strengthening of the political, economic and social ties between the two countries,” he said.
Ramaphosa revealed that during the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed that he would like to see more finished goods from South Africa entering Chinese ports.
The president was in Beijing last week where he also participated in the Forum of the China-Africa Cooperation.
READ MORE: South Africa-China trade relations remain on course.
The Asian country is South Africa’s largest trading partner. However, Ramaphosa pointed out that there is an imbalance in the structure of the two countries’ trade activities.
He added that government is buoyed by potentially increased cooperation between South Africa and China in “pursuit of low-carbon, climate resilient economic growth” and infrastructure development.
“For example, South Africa has investment opportunities in the electric vehicle sector, renewable energy, green hydrogen and energy storage – and China has a proven track record in developing innovative solutions in these areas.
“There is also great potential, and much interest, for Chinese private commercial firms, state-owned enterprises and banks to invest in our country’s infrastructure build programme. This aligns with our plans to modernise our infrastructure by investing in the expansion of ports, rail and road networks,” he said.
