South African Cabinet welcomes outcomes of president’s successful visit to China

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — The South African Cabinet has welcomed the positive outcomes of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent state visit to China during the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing, said Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Friday.
During a media briefing in Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital, Ntshavheni highlighted several agreements, including a significant trade deal between South Africa and China, finalized during Ramaphosa’s visit to China in early September.
She highlighted that this visit was particularly important given that China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade growing from 614 billion South African rands (about 35 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022 to 692 billion rands in 2023.
The agreements signed during the visit were aimed at strengthening economic relations between the two nations. “South Africa secured cooperation from China on three value chains relating to decarbonization, digitalization, transport, and logistics,” Ntshavheni said.
Additional agreements are set to boost investments in the automotive sector and the green energy economy. “This cooperation will pave the way to promote investments in electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, and renewable energy storage, as well as in identified Special Economic Zones and Industrial Development Zones,” she said.
According to the minister, Chinese investors from Shenzhen and Beijing are keen to expand their investments in South Africa through new projects.
“Memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed during the state visit, aimed at promoting cooperation between China and South Africa,” said Ntshavheni. “The MoUs include the groundbreaking MoU on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that limits the restrictions on the exporting of beef to the specific district affected by FMD instead of the whole country.” ■