With China being South Africa's largest trading partner, the upcoming State Visit to the People's Republic of China by President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to fortify the economic relationship between the two countries.
In 2023, South Africa's bilateral trade reached $34 billion, with exports totalling $12 billion and imports at $22 billion.
"China's substantial contribution to our investment drive has made it the largest source of foreign direct investment for South Africa. We anticipate concluding several important agreements during this State Visit, including a Framework Agreement on Development Cooperation, addressing the trade balance, and expanding market access," spokesperson for the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Chrispin Phiri, said on Monday in Pretoria.
Phiri said these agreements will strengthen South Africa's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China and elevate regional and multilateral cooperation to support global peace and security.
The President will travel of China from 2 - 5 September 2024 to further strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.
"This visit is a testament to the robust relations between our two nations, built on mutual respect and benefit. It follows President Xi Jinping's fourth State Visit to South Africa, further strengthening our ties.
"The primary focus of this visit will be to fortify our economic relationship. South Africa's largest trading partner, China, has played a pivotal role in our economy.
"Our relations with China are central to realising our developmental agenda and efforts to implement the National Development Plan. This visit provides an opportunity to review progress on existing trade and cooperation, and to expedite and finalise new areas of collaboration," he said.
While in China, the President will lead the South African delegation to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Beijing from 4 to 5 September 2024.
The Summit, themed, 'Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future', will further South Africa's cooperation under the Belt-and-Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative ("Three Initiatives").
SA-Japan developments
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Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola successfully concluded his working visit to Japan, which coincided with the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting on 24-25 August 2024 in Tokyo.
Launched in 1993, TICAD is the first international developmental partnership with Africa. It advocates for Africa's development agenda and strengthens economic cooperation between Africa and Japan.
The Minister led South Africa's delegation at the Ministerial Meeting, held under the theme, 'Realising a Sustainable Future'.
The Government of Japan convened this significant gathering in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UNOSAA), the World Bank, and the African Union (AU) Commission.
"The Minister's visit to Japan coincided with Toyota's announcement of a strategic investment of R 1.2 billion in the South African automotive industry and our first consignment of avocados to Japan. This marks a significant moment for our agricultural sector in the East Asia market.
"These important economic developments will go a long way to drive faster industrialisation, job creation, and transformation implementation. The Minister reiterated that South Africa enjoys a significant relationship with Japan, underpinned by a fair economic partnership that contributes significantly to our nation's economic development and people-to-people relations," Phiri said.
