China and SA cement bilateral relations

A South Africa procurement mission from China is set to visit South Africa before the end of the year in an effort to increase trade relations between the two countries, says Ebrahim Ebrahim, South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. Ebrahim, who co-chaired the South Africa-China Strategic Dialogue Forum with his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China, Assistant Minister Zhai Jun, last week, said it was important to strengthen trade relations between South Africa and China. An annual consultation, the forum takes place against the backdrop of solid bilateral and trade relations between the two countries. At this year’s forum Jun and Ebrahim looked at ways to further build on the solid foundation by focusing on reviewing bilateral relations, African issues and China’s policy towards Africa as well as multilateral cooperation and international developments. Launched on January 8 last year, the Strategic Dialogue Forum offers the two countries an opportunity to discuss bilateral economic and political co-operation.