Work together to create a new vision of China-Africa-South Africa cooperation

　　This is the banner of the BRICS Summit filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 17th. Xinhua news agency

　　This year is the BRICS "South Africa Year". At the invitation of South African President Ramaphosa, the Chairman of Supreme Leader will attend the 15th meeting of BRICS leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa and pay a state visit to South Africa from August 21st to 24th. In the meantime, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with President Ramaphosa. This is the first time that the Chairman of the Supreme Leader of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has participated in the BRICS leaders’ meeting and visited Africa offline. All walks of life in South Africa are full of expectations for this, and believe that the visit of the Supreme Leader will definitely promote the development of BRICS cooperation, Central South Africa and China-Africa relations, and open a new vision for China-Africa and Central South Africa cooperation.

　　Fuehrer’s diplomacy deepens China-South Africa cooperation

　　Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for the South African presidential palace, said that the South African government has made all preparations for the visit of the Supreme Leader. This visit will further deepen South China relations, and the leaders of the two countries will sign a number of cooperation agreements to jointly push bilateral relations into a new era. Xie Shengwen, South African ambassador to China, said that the contact and interaction between the two heads of state will help promote the in-depth development of bilateral relations, and then the two countries will send delegations from many fields to exchange visits.

　　General Secretary of the ANC of South Africa Fickley MBalula said that under the strong leadership of the Supreme Leader, the social, political and economic relations between China and South Africa and Africa have been developing continuously. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa 25 years ago, especially since the first visit of the Supreme Leader Chairman to South Africa 10 years ago, the relations between the ANC and the Communist Party of China (CPC) have made great progress, and the economic and trade relations between the two countries have achieved leap-forward development, which has continuously benefited the two peoples. Practice fully shows that countries with different social systems and cultures can also carry out close cooperation and exchanges, which is also the cornerstone of the development of China-South Africa relations in the next 25 years. The development of China-Africa relations can also provide reference for solving geopolitical dilemmas in the world. Only through unity, cooperation and common development can all countries achieve the goal of modernization. Balula expressed his gratitude to China for its support to South Africa as the rotating presidency of the BRICS, and believed that President Xi’s visit would deepen South China’s cooperation in economy, trade, energy and other fields.

　　Promote economic and trade cooperation to a higher level.

　　Ibrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, said that South Africa regards China as its most important economic and trade partner. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South and China, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has achieved many pragmatic results, laying a good foundation for the further development of bilateral relations. The visit of the Supreme Leader will continue to promote cooperation in the field of trade and investment between South and China and promote the better development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

　　Stavros Nicolau, South African representative of BRICS Business Council and senior executive of Aspen Pharmaceutical’s strategic trade planning department, said that the bilateral trade volume between South Africa and China accounts for about 68% of the total trade volume with BRICS countries, and China is the largest trading partner of South Africa among BRICS countries. In 2022, South African exports to China increased by 7%, and imports from China increased by about 16%. Chairman Supreme Leader’s visit and China’s increasing investment and imports in Yugoslavia will create new opportunities for narrowing the trade deficit with China.

　　Nikolao pointed out that the BRICS countries are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, accounting for 31.5% to 32% of the global economy, surpassing the Group of Seven, including the United States, Britain and Canada, which accounts for about 30% of the global economy. This is the first face-to-face meeting of BRICS leaders in four years. The theme of the BRICS Summit is "BRICS and Africa: deepening partnership, promoting mutual growth, achieving sustainable development and strengthening inclusive multilateralism". South Africa invited other African countries to attend the meeting, and the whole African continent is currently implementing the FTA, which will provide opportunities for cooperation between China and African business circles.

　　Call for a more just and rational international order

　　Meng Dawei, a well-known South African scholar and director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, said that President Xi’s visit is of great importance to both China and South Africa. The Chairman of the Supreme Leader has put forward a number of initiatives that are beneficial to South Africa and Africa. South-China relations have risen to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and South Africa’s trade deficit with China is gradually improving, and it is developing in the direction of trade balance. The relations between the two countries have undergone favorable changes in many fields. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South and China, and the two countries have many consistent positions on international occasions, both of which are members of the G20 and BRICS countries. South Africa is also the leader of the African continent, playing a key role in the AU, and promoting the better connection between the AU’s Agenda 2063 and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China is building more and more infrastructure projects on the African continent. We expect South and China to better promote the reform of the UN Security Council under the BRICS mechanism, jointly promote the response to the global crisis through multilateralism, and promote China-Africa cooperation in trade, climate change, health and other fields. In addition, South China and China will participate in the G20 Summit to be held in India later this year. It is believed that the outcome of the BRICS Summit will affect the G20 Summit in India to some extent.

　　Meng Dawei said that the current global media are paying attention to the expansion of the BRICS, and many countries also want to join the BRICS. In today’s world, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization are all international institutions dominated by the United States and the West. Western developed countries rarely consider the concerns of developing countries on many issues. When these countries apply to join the BRICS, they hope to use the BRICS mechanism to enhance the voice and influence of developing countries and build a more just and reasonable international order, which is consistent with the spirit of the Bandung Conference and closely related to the global development initiative, global security initiative and global civilization initiative put forward by China. Leaders’ meetings between BRICS countries and African countries, presidents of African regional organizations and the China-Africa round table co-chaired by China and South Africa will push the world towards multipolarization.

　　Tan Zheli, a senior researcher at the Mbeki Institute of African Leadership at the University of South Africa and an expert on China, said that this is the fourth visit to South Africa since the Supreme Leader took office as president. In 2013, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader visited South Africa (including Tanzania and other countries) for the first time and put forward four proposals, which became the cornerstone of China’s Africa policy. Chairman Supreme Leader’s trip to South Africa in 2015 and 2018 also promoted the in-depth development of China-South Africa relations and China-Africa cooperation. We expect that this visit will once again inject new impetus into China-South Africa cooperation and China-Africa cooperation. At present, the voice of reforming the international order, especially the international financial order, is rising, and more and more countries apply to join the BRICS. The members of multilateral organizations such as BRICS and SCO are mainly developing countries, and efforts are being made to promote the international order in a more just and reasonable direction. Therefore, the importance of Chairman Supreme Leader’s visit is self-evident.

　　(Johannesburg, August 19 th, our reporter Wang Chuanjun)