Pretoria – Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe says partnerships between South African and Chinese state owned enterprises (SOEs) should be increased in order to contribute towards regional development and integration, as envisaged by the African Union and regional economic communities.
Speaking at the 5th South Africa-China Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Beijing on Monday, Motlanthe said South Africa would like to see greater participation of Chinese companies in areas such as renewable energy, mining, banking, manufacturing and rail infrastructure.
“We are encouraged by the growing presence of Chinese companies in varied sectors of the South African economy… We will be able to stimulate different sectors of the South African economy through local procurement of inputs, technology transfers and skills development,” said Motlanthe.
China has become South Africa’s single largest trading partner in the world, while South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa.
One example of successful collaboration between the two countries is the partnership China South Rail has with Transnet for the production of Transnet locomotives in South Africa. Motlanthe said this would act as a catalyst for the revival of the country’s own locomotives manufacturing and stimulate associated industries such as steel fabrication and engineering.
The BNC is an opportunity for the leaders to review the work that has been done by the respective sectoral committees since the 4th BNC, which took place in Cape Town in 2010.
Motlanthe said they were looking forward to assessing reports from the respective sectoral committees on foreign affairs, energy, mining, science and technology as well as the Joint Committee on Trade and Investment. This, Motlanthe said, was especially important this year, given that China and South Africa celebrate 15 years of diplomatic relations.
“In this time, our relations have been growing from strength to strength, going through three principal stages from a partnership to strategic one, and finally to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
“This year is also important because it has ushered in a new leadership in the People’s Republic of China,” Motlanthe said.
For the future development of the BNC, the Deputy President said the addition of new sectoral committees to widen the scope of cooperation would be a boon to sustaining the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The BNC concludes today. – SAnews.gov.za
