Forum: China-South Africa ties at historic peak
The Republic of South Africa and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1998. In 2018 we’ll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of ties. Over the past two decades, our bilateral relations have gone from strengthto-strength, quickly growing from a partnership to a strategic partnership to what is now a comprehensive strategic partnership.
When President Xi Jinping met President Jacob Zuma at the BRICS Xiamen Summit 2017, he has told that in recent years the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and South Africa maintains a strong momentum and that bilateral relations are at their best in history. During this visit, South Africa and China signed 23 agreements valued at over R94 billion ($7.38 billion). The value of these agreements is historic as it is the highest value of deals ever recorded in South Africa’s history during a state visit.
Our relations are at the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), with bilateral ties among the most vibrant and significant for South Africa. The CSP, signed in 2010, prioritizes enhancing frequent high-level political exchanges and advancing trade and investment. To this end, bilateral mechanisms such as the Bi-National Commission, Joint Working Group, and Strategic Dialogue have been established to facilitate and enhance political interests and economic objectives.
During the past 20 years, South Africa and China also cooperated closely at international organizations and strongly supported each other in numerous global affairs. The friendship and mutual trust have been further deepened and strengthened.
Invited by China, South Africa joined BRICS in 2010 and since then South Africa has been working closely with China under the BRICS frame. We value our membership of BRICS since it enables us to promote economic development through enhanced trade and investment, expand sectors in which our country holds a comparative advantage and even provide overseas investment opportunities for South African enterprises. BRICS also provides us an opportunity to influence policymaking and alignment among developing countries to make the international economic system more inclusive while strengthening the global order and upholding the principle of multilateralism and the centrality of the United Nations.
South Africa, the youngest member of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, will soon assume the chairpersonship of the organization from China and host the milestone 10th BRICS Summit and the various sectorial events and meetings in 2018. As the incoming chair, we will strive for a seamless transition between our successive chairpersonships, for all partners and to build on the work of China and indeed of all our BRICS partners before. We fully intend to continue amplifying the various productive initiatives that were undertaken this year.
The inception of Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000 was a historical milestone of SinoAfrican relations. Launched in October 2000 in Beijing as a tri-annual collective dialogue platform for cooperation between China and Africa, FOCAC is based on the principles of South-South cooperation and mutual and equal benefit. Its primary aim is to contribute to the realization of Africa’s socio-economic development and integration through all aspects. It is aimed at strengthening the equal and harmonious partnership grounded in the pursuit of economic development and catalyzing Africa’s industrial revolution.
South Africa hosted the sixth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg in December 2015, under the theme “Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development.” The summit further consolidated the partnership between Africa and China, through SouthSouth cooperation, with a special focus on industrialization and the regional integration of economies in Africa.
The seventh Ministerial Conference of FOCAC will take place in Beijing in 2018. The opportunities for achieving tangible results within FOCAC are plenty, in particular as South Africa is positioned to improve its infrastructure, increase intra-trade and firmly become part of the emerging global drive toward sustainable development.
South Africa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation on the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) with China during the state visit of President Xi to South Africa in December 2015. The MoU encourages Chinese and South African companies, through various business links, to explore cooperation in infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, ports, power generation, airports and human settlements.
The BRI dovetails with South Africa’s Operation Phakisa, an initiative aimed at “unlocking the potential of South Africa’s ocean economy” which was initiated in March 2014 as a government programme to fast-track initiatives within the oceans. South Africa’s participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will strengthen its growing business relationships with the region and will also demonstrate solidarity with the region’s development aspirations. This is in line with South Africa’s own National Development Plan’s vision of creating employment, growing the economy and promoting exports.
South Africa’s participation in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on 14 to 15 May 2017 enabled us to gain deeper insights into how the initiative will unfold and thereby to prepare ourselves accordingly. In September 2016, China successfully hosted the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. South Africa offered its full support for a successful outcome under the leadership of China. The African nation continued to play a critical role in the G20 as the only African member, and supported the interests of the African continent in respect of agenda setting and deliberations. South Africa seeks to use its participation in the G20 to promote and strengthen the interests of Africa and of the Global South. On the margins of the G20, a bilateral meeting between Presidents Zuma and Xi focused on progress made toward implementation of joint projects, exchanging information and ideas on developments in Africa as well as exploring mechanisms of reaching consensus on the most pressing international issues.
The G20 is the premier forum for coordination on international financial and economic matters. South Africa will continue to work closely with China in order to better achieve the common goals.
All in all, the key elements underpinning the robust relationship between China and South Africa are deep bonds of friendship, mutual trust and respect, equality, win-win relations, and a mutual desire to build a better world and thus a prosperous future for humanity.