President Cyril Ramaphosa says China and South Africa have a common understanding that trade and investment are the foremost catalysts for improving the living standards of their respective peoples.
Ramaphosa said this is his letter to the nation today where he reflected on the 25 year diplomatic ties between the two countries ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s fourth state visit to South Africa on Tuesday.
He says South Africa has a great deal to learn from China which has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty over a 40 year period.
He says the two countries collaborating on the design and implementation of poverty alleviation strategies aligned with their respective developmental visions.
South Africa supports the expansion of BRICS: Ramaphosa
President Ramaphosa says that the Chinese leader’s visit is an opportunity to assess progress achieved by the 10-Year Strategic Programme of Cooperation Agreement signed by the two countries in 2020.
Areas of focus include collaboration in the green economy, transfer of science and technology and increasing Chinese tourism to South Africa.
The President says the visit will also be used to discuss how to narrow the significant trade deficit that exists in China’s favour, mainly through facilitating greater entry of value-added South African goods, products and services into the Chinese market.
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