Pretoria - The Presidency has dismissed reports that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had met Chinese officials because of their concerns about economic and political stability in South Africa.
In a statement on Sunday, the Presidency said Deputy President Ramaphosa met the Governor of Guandong Province, Zhu Xiaodan, for a courtesy call on Friday.
“The Presidency feels obliged, in view of the media reports, to make it clear that the courtesy call was directed at consolidating existing bilateral relations between South Africa and the People's Republic of China.”
It said the suggestion that the Chinese delegation had raised national developments within South Africa is “wholly incorrect, and may arise from the conflation of the courtesy visit with other meetings held on the same day on the South African economy”.
The exchange between the two countries focused on the prospect of a twinning agreement between Guandong and KwaZulu-Natal to enhance cooperation in a number of economic sectors.
As such, Zhu arrived in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday where is he leading a government and business delegation to explore the opportunities.
Premier Willies Mchunu has welcomed the delegation in the province.
“Our main focus as the province is to attract foreign direct investment into all corners of the province. It is for these reasons that we have invited mayors, local chambers and entrepreneurs to interact with the delegation from Guangdong, a province regarded as a global manufacturing hub,” said Premier Mchunu.
South Africa aims to create 11 million new jobs by 2030. KwaZulu-Natal will have to create 2.1 million jobs.
To achieve this, the KwaZulu-Natal economy will have to grow at an average of at least 4% per annum between now and 2030.
“One of the areas we are focusing on is foreign direct investment. As the province, we have realised that countries like India, Brazil and China have grown at a higher rate because they are benefiting from foreign direct investment, while others have not been able to attract as much FDI,” said Premier Mchunu.
The Chinese delegation will meet with Premier Mchunu this morning before visiting Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone and the Dube Trade Port.
A business conference between the two sides is scheduled for Tuesday. - SAnews.gov.za
