Cyril Ramaphosa Arrives Beijing For FOCAC 2024 Summit.
Early Monday morning, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Beijing to join the two-day 2024 Summit of the for the 9th Forum of China-African Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled to start in the Chinese capital on September 4th.
South Africa, located at the southern tip of Africa, is the continent’s second-largest economy and a participant in the BRICS group.
In 2023, trade between China and South Africa hit 55.6 billion U.S. dollars, representing roughly 20% of China’s overall trade with Africa.
Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, the ambassador representing South Africa in China, remarked that, “From the South African perspective, there are new areas with a lot of opportunities, particularly for Chinese investors. In the new energy sector, the whole new energy revolution, including EVs, solar panels, wind, prioritizing technology. So, we need that because we need to transform all of our production, from agriculture, from health, from government, to be digitized. So, those are the areas of focus for us going forward.”
Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1998, China and South Africa have maintained strong high-level exchanges, provided solid mutual support on core interests and major issues, and collaborated closely in international matters.
The forthcoming FOCAC summit will take place with the theme “Collaborating to Promote Modernization and Establish a High-Level China-Africa Community for a Shared Future.”
Credit: Africanews.com
