Minister Davies in China for expos

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Pretoria - Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies is in Beijing on the last leg of the South African Expos in China.

The expos, which kicked off on 20 October, aim to showcase South African value-added products. It also aims to strengthen trade relations between the two countries.

This year marks 16 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries and the year has been declared The Year of South Africa in China.

“The commemoration of The Year of South Africa in China signifies the good relations that the two countries have shared in terms of diplomatic relations. We would like to further extend these to trade relations to ensure that the imbalance relating to trade between the two countries is corrected,” said Minister Davies on Thursday.

The Minister is leading a delegation of 51 companies on the last leg of the expos, which kicked off in Hong Kong.

Minister Davies will open the South African exhibition as well as address an investment seminar targeting Chinese businesspeople.

He will also engage with several potential Chinese investors in an effort to attract foreign direct investment into South Africa, meet with the Ministry of Commerce and further engage the media on the latest trade issues relating to South Africa and China. 

The Minister said although China is South Africa’s biggest trading partner, China has been benefiting more from the trade relationship. South Africa also wants to increase the number of value-added products exported to China, hence the promotion of the top 10 value-added products during the expos.           

“The top 10 identified products and projects cut across different sectors of the economy as outlined in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) leaving considerable growth scope for South Africa to diversify its export base to China,” he said.

The Year of South Africa in China commemorations also coincide with South Africa’s celebration of 20 years of freedom and democracy.

“South Africa will therefore conduct a series of activities including cultural promotions, art shows, trade exhibitions and fairs, academic research and educational exchanges in China, with China undertaking a variety of introduction, promotion and exchange activities in South Africa,” he said.

The expos in Beijing start today and end tomorrow.                            

The expos kicked off with the delegation having being led on the first leg of the trip by the Director-General of the dti, Lionel October followed by Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina on the second leg. – SAnews.gov.za