By Simon Nare
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the acknowledgement of interdependence among nations if relations between Africa and China are to be realised.
The president made the call during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) Summit in China where he is leading the country’s delegation on a state visit for trade relations talks.
The two nations enjoy healthy relations and China is South Africa’s top trading partner globally while South Africa is China’s top trading partner in Africa.
Ramaphosa said China had a long history of friendship and solidarity with Africa. For a future that was people-centered, development-oriented and inclusive, nations needed to work in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration.
“If we are to realise a sustainable future for Africa and China – and indeed the entire world – we must acknowledge the reality of the interdependence among our community of nations,” said Ramaphosa.
He said since the relationship between China and the African continent was institutionalised through Focac in 2000, ties between China and Africa have continued to grow and deepen.
The president reminded the forum that the summit was taking place at a time when the world was facing multiple challenges such as war and conflict that was causing great human suffering and instability across the world.
To add to that, climate change was causing widespread devastation while the world was falling behind in its efforts to achieve sustainable development goals.
“The global contestation for critical minerals is fueling geopolitical rivalry. These challenges affect all nations but are often most severely felt in Africa. Yet, amid these challenges, there is hope and opportunity,” he said.
Ramaphosa welcomed Chinese President Xi Jimping’s proposal that his country’s bilateral relations with African countries with diplomatic ties with China be elevated to strategic relations.
Ramaphosa said the fourth Focac Summit reflected the cooperative, comprehensive and intentional nature of cooperation.
“This summit reflects our shared desire for modernisation, development and progress on the African continent. We believe that this shared desire is reflected in the ten partnership actions on modernisation to be taken by China and Africa, as announced by
President Xi.
“Through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the economies of Africa are being drawn closer together,” he said.
Ramaphosa said Focac could play an important role as Africa worked to build an integrated network of linkages between countries within regions and across the entire continent.
Also, Africa believed that Focac was a valuable forum to support the implementation of the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063.
Ramaphosa and Cabinet ministers have attended several meetings while in Beijing.
On Wednesday, he addressed the South Africa-China Business Forum, where he praised the recent significant increase in Chinese investment, especially over the last six weeks.
He also called for a strengthening of collaboration to increase investment opportunities in South Africa.
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