China to push investment in SA
7 February 2007
China will use its Africa Fund to encourage Chinese companies to invest in South Africa, visiting President Hu Jintao told President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Hu began a two-day state visit to South Africa on Tuesday. South Africa is the sixth leg of Hu's eight-nation African tour, which has taken him to Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia and Namibia. He will also visit Mozambique and the Seychelles.
Speaking to reporters after more than an hour of discussions with Hu on Tuesday, Mbeki said that China had, over the past 10 years, grown to be a strategic economic partner for South Africa "and we've therefore agreed that we should work further to increase investment in both sides."
China was also assisting South Africa in other areas of development, such as the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (Asgi-SA), Mbeki added. Chinese ambassador to SA Liu Guijin told reporters in Pretoria last month that China would consider further financial contributions - beyond the R19-million it has already committed - to SA's skills training and economic development programmes.
Mbeki also announced on Tuesday that Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is driving Asgi-SA, would visit Beijing later this year.
According to the SA Press Association (Sapa), Hu said he and Mbeki had agreed "that both sides would keep dialogue at top level, increase their mutual political talk, and deepen their business cooperation for mutually win-win situation" - adding that China was "very positive towards the establishment of a free trade area."
Seven new agreements
After their talks, the two presidents signed seven new economic and agricultural agreements, and launched an official website for China-South Africa economic trade and co-operation.
The agreements included protocols on phyto-sanitary requirements for trade in apples, pears, grapes and tobacco leaf, agreements on economic and technical co-operation and on co-operation in minerals and energy, as well as a memorandum on the establishment of a South Africa-China minerals and energy co-operation committee.
China's development has created a growing export market for Africa, with China-Africa trade volumes reaching US$39.8-billion in 2005, US$21.1-billion of which comprised exports from Africa.
Since South Africa and China established diplomatic relations in 1998, trade has grown significantly. In 2005, China became SA's second-largest import trading partner, contributing 9% of total imports, and eighth-largest export partner, drawing 3% of total exports from SA.
However, while both imports and exports grew 30% in 2005 compared to 2004, China still enjoys a massive trade surplus with SA. In 2005, imports from China totalled R31.476-billion, while exports came to R8.763-billion.
SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews
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