South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says African countries value the support China provides to them and welcomed the win-win relationship.
He was speaking on Thursday after a China trip, where he paid a state visit and attended the 2018 Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Mr. Ramaphosa who described the forum as a huge success said South Africa was honored to have co-chaired the Beijing FOCAC with China.
Many African countries have a sense that they have China as a meaningful partner which wants to assist fellow
partners to reach higher levels of industrialisation.
He said African countries wish to exercise their right to development through industrialisation.
Ramaphosa also said that African countries and China also realise the need to address the issue of trade imbalance
between them.
He said South Africa and China also entered into several agreements and signed a number of Memoranda of
Understanding (MOU) during his state visit.
The president said these agreements pave the way for economic growth, educational opportunities and job creation
in South Africa.
The president called on South African companies to work in partnership, consolidate South African interests on
the African continent and to collaborate with China on projects in line with South Africa’s development and
integration objectives.
Ramaphosa said South Africa is also seeking help from Chinese technology giant Huawei to explore innovative
ways to strengthen the fight against crime through the use of modern technology.
For this purpose, Ramaphosa said he paid a courtesy call at Huawei’s Beijing Executive Briefing Center, where
he met Huawei group founder, Ren Zhengfei.
Ramaphosa also travelled to Hangzhou where he visited the headquarters of the leading e-commerce group, Alibaba, and met the group’s founder, Jack Ma.
He said the visit was aimed at assisting the South African small business sector, especially in rural communities.
Alibaba is at its final stage of planning opportunities for South Africans, especially youth, to help South
Africa leverage the fourth industrial revolution, according to Ramaphosa.
Source: Xinhua/NAN
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/07/12/politics/president-ramaphosa-in-saudi-arabia-for-state-visit/