SA to learn ideas on job creation from China

Friday, November 6, 2009

Pretoria - Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana says South Africa will use the Chinese delegation's visit to the country to learn more about job creation.

Speaking at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Cape Town today, Mdladlana said South Africa wanted to learn vital strategies of job creation from the Asian country as it also faced the same unemployment crisis.

He said South Africa will maintain its relations with China in a bid to halve unemployment by 2014.

The minister said relations between South Africa and China will continue in line with the countries' growing influence on the international arena.

"A fact of life that cannot be ignored is that both South Africa and China are developing countries whose growing stature in international affairs is there for everybody to see.

"No wonder we are being invited to all important global forums as an acknowledgement of the positive role we both play,'' said Mdladlana.

The Chinese vice Minister of Labour and Social Security HE Xian said he appreciated South Africa's co-operation in many projects.

China's consul-general to South Africa, Hao Guaangfeng said: "our two peoples are linked heart-to-heart by common goals and aspirations and we must ensure that our relations grow from strength to strength.''