South Africa is perfectly positioned to drive growth and development on the African continent through industrialisation, according to the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian. “We see South Africa as a manufacturing and production base which will create jobs,” said Lin, who took the ambassadorial post in August this year. The ambassador stressed the need to work together to help drive development which he said was the key to overcoming poverty. Lin also pointed out that while there were “huge” opportunities for African trade growth, the continent needed to grow its industrialisation capacity. He added that the slow rate of infrastructure development as well as governance issues were “areas of concern” for investors. China is currently South Africa’s top trade partner, accounting for 17.9% of the country’s imports and 9.9% of exports in September this year.
