APA-Pretoria (South Africa) President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa and China are championing the vision of a world that promotes the principle of equality for all people regardless of which country or region they come from.
Speaking at the start of official talks with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pretoria on Tuesday, Rampahosa said South Africa is “inspired by China’s common prosperity strategy and are encouraged that this includes improving the welfare and well-being of all countries of the Global South.”
“At a time when the world faces many geopolitical, social, economic, environmental and other challenges, it is up to us to deepen our cooperation and turn challenge into opportunity as we build a shared future,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “As friends and BRICS partners, we stand together in our shared quest for a better, more egalitarian world that frees the potential of all peoples.”
The comments come in the wake of rising tension between China and Russia, on the one hand, and the United States and its allies, on the other hand, over global dominance.
The tensions are partly over the West’s misgivings over the recent foray by China and Russia into Africa, hitherto considered uncontested feeding troughs for the US and its allies.
A hot topic across the continent at present is the unfair arrangement between France and her former colonies in Africa under which Paris controls the levers of power, including the purse of most of the concerned countries.
This is one of the reasons behind recent political events in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger where the militaries of these countries have staged coups and severed ties with France.
Ramaphosa this week chairs the fifth annual summit of the grouping of the world’s top emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).
“We share your view, President Xi, that BRICS has a vitally important role to play in the reform of global governance and in the promotion of multilateralism and cooperation throughout the world,” Ramaphosa said.
China is South Africa’s largest global trading partner, while Pretoria is also Beijing’s biggest trading partner on the continent “and an important destination for Chinese investment in Africa.”
“Our bilateral trade has grown exponentially, from less than R1 billion (US$52.6 million) in 1998 to over R614 billion in 2022,” Ramaphosa said.
He, however, bemoaned the fact that the trade is currently skewed in favour of Beijing.
“As South Africa, we would like to see the significant trade deficit narrowed and this visit is an opportunity for us to look at ways to do so.”
Chinese companies have invested more than R1.5 trillion in South Africa over the past five years, he said.
Ramaphosa thanked Xi for China’s support in addressing South Africa’s current energy challenges.
This includes a donation of emergency power equipment worth R167 million and the availing of a grant of approximately R500 million as development assistance.
JN/APA