Pacts testify to maturity of ties, growth

President Xi Jinping, who is paying a state visit to South Africa, holds talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, Aug 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

BRI, trade, innovation among key tangible achievements of state visit

A long list of outcomes and a detailed joint statement issued during President Xi Jinping's state visit to South Africa are convincing evidence of how far the two major emerging economies can go in boosting common prosperity and beyond, officials and experts said.

They made the observation as Xi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks and witnessed the signing of cooperative documents on Tuesday in Pretoria, South Africa.

Ramaphosa also awarded Xi the Order of South Africa, the highest decoration and highest honor that South Africa awards important and friendly heads of state.

According to the list of outcomes achieved during the state visit as released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, the two sides signed or agreed on a total of 25 cooperative documents.

The documents cover areas such as the Belt and Road Initiative, new energy and electricity, agricultural products, special economic zones and industrial parks, blue economy, science and technology innovation, and higher education.

The signatories of these documents ranged from the government departments of the two countries, to state-owned energy enterprises, news media, banks and universities.

In the joint statement, the two countries said they will work together to "actively build a quality China-South Africa community".

President Xi Jinping, who is paying a state visit to South Africa, holds talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, Aug 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

They vowed to continue to support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and "enhance cooperation in international affairs and multilateral institutions".

For its part, China pledged to continue to support South Africa in addressing energy security challenges and expressed support for South Africa's chairmanship of BRICS this year.

South Africa reiterated its firm adherence to the one-China policy, saying that "the Chinese path to modernization offers many lessons", and it applauded China for its leadership role in promoting peaceful global cooperation.

Wu Peng, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's department of African affairs, noted that it is President Xi's fourth state visit to South Africa and the first visit to Africa by China's top leader since the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year.

The visit "fully reflects the great importance China attaches to the development of China-South Africa and China-Africa relations", it is a complete success, and it injects fresh momentum into the development of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership, he told a media briefing at the Chinese delegation's press center in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-South Africa diplomatic relations.

Over the past 25 years, the relationship has realized a great leap forward and it is "increasingly significant in strategic and global contexts", Wu said.

Especially in recent years, China-South Africa relations have entered a "golden era" under the great care and guidance of President Xi and President Ramaphosa, he added.

The two sides will further deepen the synergy of their development strategies, strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction, energy transformation, poverty reduction and other areas, jointly explore new growth points in cooperation, and adhere to the paths of modernization suited to their own national conditions, Wu said.

President Xi Jinping, who is paying a state visit to South Africa, shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of a welcoming banquet in Pretoria, South Africa, Aug 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

South Africa was one of the first African countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative. China has so far signed memorandums of understanding on cooperation in co-building the Belt and Road with 52 African countries.

The bumper harvest of results from Xi's visit to South Africa marks the great maturity of the two leading emerging economies, and shores up hope around future two-way practical cooperation as well as infrastructure buildup on the African continent, experts said.

"In recent years, China-South Africa relations have been running at a high level and exchanges among political parties have deepened," said He Wenping, a senior researcher on African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"At a time when South Africa's economy is faced with difficulties, China has offered a helping hand for overcoming its bottlenecks, such as tackling the African country's electricity shortage through new energy cooperation," she added.