Chinese Vice President Han Zheng recently visited South Africa, meeting President Cyril Ramaphosa and co-chairing the ninth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission.
Meeting with President Ramaphosa on March 25, Han said that China attaches great importance to its relations with South Africa and stands ready to work with the country to further advance the China-South Africa all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era established by the two heads of state.
He added that, as true friends who share weal and woe, China and South Africa should continuously enhance political mutual trust, support each other on issues of their respective major concern, maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, strengthen mutual learning between their ruling parties, and promote practical cooperation in a coordinated manner.
Starting from May 1, China will fully implement zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries with which it has established diplomatic relations. In this context, Han said, China is willing to work with South Africa to finalise, as soon as possible, the early harvest arrangements under the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development to ensure that South Africa can benefit on a long-term and stable basis from China’s zero-tariff measures.
Han also stressed that both sides should jointly uphold fairness and justice. In the face of a complex and volatile international landscape, China stands ready to remain South Africa’s most reliable friend, strengthen communication and coordination within multilateral mechanisms, and work together to enhance the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs.
President Ramaphosa noted that the South Africa-China partnership is both distinctive and strategic, development-oriented, and has effectively promoted the development and progress of South Africa and Africa. He expressed appreciation to President Xi for announcing the full implementation of the zero-tariff measures, saying that South Africa will make good use of these policies to expand exports to China and strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructure, investment and technology, so as to further enrich the bilateral relations.
South Africa stands ready to further enhance communication and coordination with China under multilateral frameworks to promote the common development of Africa and other countries of the Global South.
The following day, Han Zheng met with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile and co-chaired the ninth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission.
In his speech, Han said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the China-South Africa relations have entered a “golden era,” elevated to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, and are moving towards the goal of building a high-level community with a shared future.
In a world of intertwined changes and challenges today, China and South Africa, both major developing countries and important countries in the Global South, share extensive common interests and a broad space for cooperation. China-South Africa relations go beyond the bilateral scope and increasingly demonstrate global and strategic influence.
For his part, Mashatile said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa 28 years ago, bilateral relations have been continuously developing in both depth and breadth. South Africa appreciates China’s constructive role in global peace, security and development, welcomes the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi, and is willing to strengthen coordination with China in multilateral mechanisms to jointly safeguard multilateralism.
Han’s visit to South Africa formed part of a three-nation African tour, being preceded by a visit to Kenya and followed by a visit to Seychelles.
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.
Chinese VP meets South African president on bilateral ties
CAPE TOWN, March 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa here on Wednesday, with both sides pledging to deepen bilateral cooperation and relations.
Han conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and best wishes to Ramaphosa. During his visit, Han and his South African counterpart Paul Mashatile will co-chair the ninth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission. They will, under the guidance of the important consensus reached by Xi and Ramaphosa, comprehensively review the achievements of cooperation in key areas between the two countries and systematically plan the direction and key tasks for the next stage, he said.
Han noted that China attaches great importance to its relations with South Africa and stands ready to work with the country to further advance the China-South Africa all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era established by the two heads of state.
As true friends who share weal and woe, he said, China and South Africa should continuously enhance political mutual trust, support each other on issues of their respective major concern, maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, strengthen mutual learning between their ruling parties, and promote practical cooperation in a coordinated manner.
Han further noted that the recently concluded Two Sessions of China reviewed and approved the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development. In the next five years, China will open its doors wider to the outside world, bringing more opportunities for cooperation between China and South Africa, he said.
President Xi recently announced that starting from May 1, China will fully implement zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries with which it has established diplomatic relations. In this context, Han said, China is willing to work with South Africa to finalize, as soon as possible, the early harvest arrangements under the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development to ensure that South Africa can benefit on a long-term and stable basis from China’s zero-tariff measures.
He said that China encourages its enterprises to increase investment in Africa and at the same time hopes that the South African government will create a more stable business environment for Chinese companies and set an example of mutually beneficial China-Africa cooperation.
Han also stressed that both sides should jointly uphold fairness and justice. In the face of a complex and volatile international landscape, China stands ready to remain South Africa’s most reliable friend, strengthen communication and coordination within multilateral mechanisms, and work together to enhance the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs, he added.
For his part, Ramaphosa asked Han to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to President Xi.
Ramaphosa said that South Africa firmly adheres to the one-China policy. He noted that the South Africa-China partnership is both distinctive and strategic, development-oriented, and has effectively promoted the development and progress of South Africa and Africa.
Ramaphosa expressed appreciation to President Xi for announcing the full implementation of the zero-tariff measures, saying that South Africa will make good use of these policies to expand exports to China and strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructure, investment and technology, so as to further enrich the bilateral relations.
He also thanked China for its support for South Africa in hosting the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit. South Africa stands ready to further enhance communication and coordination with China under multilateral frameworks to promote the common development of Africa and other countries of the Global South, he added.
China, South Africa hold bi-national commission meeting to strengthen cooperation
CAPE TOWN, March 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile here on Thursday, and co-chaired the ninth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission.
In his speech, Han said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the China-South Africa relations have entered a “golden era,” elevated to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, and are moving towards the goal of building a high-level community with a shared future.
In a world of intertwined changes and challenges today, China and South Africa, both major developing countries and important countries in the Global South, share extensive common interests and a broad space for cooperation, Han said, noting that China-South Africa relations go beyond the bilateral scope and increasingly demonstrate global and strategic influence.
Speaking highly of the significant progress in China-South Africa cooperation across various fields since the eighth plenary session of the bi-national commission, Han said that the in-depth exchange of views at the ninth session on further implementing the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, on bilateral ties, and on advancing cooperation in key areas, fully demonstrated the commission’s important role in planning and coordinating bilateral cooperation.
The two sides agreed that under the new circumstances, the bi-national commission should give full play to its important role, turn the traditional friendship between the two countries into a lasting driving force to develop their relations, turn mutual political trust into concrete actions to safeguard each other’s core interests, and turn sound and practical strategic planning into tangible cooperation outcomes, he said.
Han expressed the hope that the authorities in various fields on both sides will enhance communication and coordination, and identify key projects and implementation steps for the next stage of cooperation as soon as possible, so as to secure more gains and results.
Han called on both sides to strengthen the tradition of mutual support between the two countries, enhance communication on issues concerning each other’s core interests and international hot issues, coordinate positions, and maintain exchanges and cooperation at all levels and in all fields.
He also called for efforts to leverage the cooperation opportunities brought by China’s zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries, and finalize, as soon as possible, the early harvest arrangements under the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development.
It is necessary to further enhance the alignment in key areas such as infrastructure, resources and energy between the two countries, expand cooperation in the field of science and technology, and strengthen the people-to-people bonds, he added.
For his part, Mashatile said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa 28 years ago, bilateral relations have been continuously developing in both depth and breadth.
The South African side is willing to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to give full play to the important guiding and coordinating role of the bi-national commission mechanism in the development of bilateral relations, implement the strategic cooperation plan between the two countries, tap into cooperation potential, and jointly promote modernization.
South Africa appreciates China’s constructive role in global peace, security and development, welcomes the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi, and is willing to strengthen coordination with China in multilateral mechanisms to jointly safeguard multilateralism.
Han and Mashatile heard the work reports by six sub-commissions of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission on diplomacy, trade and investment, minerals and energy, environment and infrastructure, science and technology, as well as education and culture.
