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Economy & Trade
Ambassador Cwele attended China Mining 2024
Dr Siyabonga Cwele, South African Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, attended the 26th edition of the China Mining Conference and Exhibition from 15 to 18 October 2024 in Tianjin. His Excellency Mr Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources of the Republic of South Africa was one of the guests of honour at China Mining 2024. |
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With the theme of “Promoting Mining Cooperation for a Better Future”, the event was hosted by the China Mining Association and supervised by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government. |
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Minister Mantashe addressed the opening ceremony of China Mining 2024 and the Mining Ministers Forum. South Africa was afforded a national country pavilion at this year’s event that allowed leading South African mining enterprises to showcase their products to the Conference delegates. |
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Ambassador Cwele attended the Mining in Africa Investment Promotion event and the country investment promotion event of Mining in South Africa and delivered speeches. Ambassador Cwele said: “mining remains the backbone of South African economic output contributing 8.2% to our GDP and employing half a million people in 2022. To maximize the potential of the mutually beneficial trade relationship with China, the core objective is to move beyond mere exportation of raw materials and metals and focus more on value addition through beneficiation. This imperative is not unique to South Africa but is mirrored in other African countries. The pursuit of beneficiation locally is a key element in ensuring that South Africa's rich mineral resources translate into economic growth, job creation, and sustainable development.” |
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Ambassador Cwele also said that “we acknowledge the importance of China’s investment with South Africa and Africa in strategic areas in particular in mining and energy infrastructure. Our partnership is not about exploitation but rather about empowerment. By promoting responsible mining practices, technology transfers, and investments in beneficiation, we can harness our mineral resources in a way that ensures that the benefits are widespread, touching the lives of our people and fostering local industries. The sustainable development of the African and South African mineral wealth and endowments is largely dependent on investment in research and technological innovation, to drive a globally competitive sector in the new era.” |
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In addition, Ambassador Cwele accompanied Minister Mantashe to the official bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr Wang Guanghua, Minister of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China and sideline business meetings with leading Chinese mining enterprises in order to enhance Chinese investment in South Africa’s mining sector. |
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Political
Official Visit to China by Minister Ronald Lamola
Beijing. The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Ronald Lamola paid an Official Visit to the People’s Republic of China from 31 August-7 September 2024. The purpose of Minister Lamola’s visit to China was to strengthen the fraternal bilateral relations between South Africa and China.
On Sunday, 1 September 2024, Minister Lamola had First Bilateral Talks with his counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where the two Ministers reflected on wide range of issues including status of political and economic relations between the two countries, the Ukraine crisis, Israel – Hamas war and exchanges on global governance issues. |
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Minister Lamola’s visit was also aimed at preparing for the Second State Visit to China by President Cyril Ramaphosa that took place from 2-4 September 2024. Minister Lamola also supported President Ramaphosa during the 2024 FOCAC Summit which took place from 2-6 September 2024 in Beijing, China. Minister Lamola also attended the 9th FOCAC Ministerial Conference which was held on 3 September 2024 at the Fangfei Villa Diaoyutai State Guesthouse) in Beijing in preparation of the FOCAC Summit. |
President Ramaphosa’s Second State Visit to China |
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Beijing: At the invitation of HE President Xi Jinping, HE President Ramaphosa undertook his 2nd State Visit to China from 2-4 September 2024. On 2 September 2024, President Ramaphosa had bilateral talks including a Tete-a-Tete with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. During bilateral talks, the two Heads of State covered wide range of issues such as the status of political and economic relations, regional hotspots such the Ukraine cris, Israel-Hamas war, China-Africa relations in the context of the FOCAC Summit and global governance. Several bilateral cooperation instruments were signed between South Africa and China during President Ramaphosa’s Second State Visit to China, which cover areas such as science and innovation, human settlement and agricultural cooperation. One of the main highlights of President Ramaphosa’s 2nd State Visit to China was the decision taken by the two Heads of State to upgrade bilateral relations to an “All Round Strategic Cooperative Partnership in a New Era”. In the evening of 2 September 2024, HE Premier Li Qiang of China hosted a state banquet in honour of President Cyril Ramaphosa. |
President Ramaphosa Attends the 2024 FOCAC Summit |
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Beijing: While in China, President Ramaphosa joined other 52 African Heads of State and Government who gathered at the Great Wall of the People on 5 September to attend the FOCAC Summit which was co-chaired by President Xi Jinping of China and the President of Senegal, HE Mr Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The Summit itself was preceded by a state banquet, of which President Ramaphosa was one of the guests, hosted by President Xi Jinping in honour of the African Heads of State and Government. In the afternoon of 5 September 2024, President Ramaphosa co – chaired the High-Level Parallel Seminar on Industrialisation, Agricultural Modernisation and Green Development together with Mr Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). |
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Economy & Trade
The South Africa–China Presidential Business Forum
As part of the State Visit programme of events, the South Africa-China Presidential Business Forum was held on 4 September 2024 in Beijing. The event was the seminal business engagement by President CM Ramaphosa during his visit to Beijing. |
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The Forum was attended by over 200 South African businesspeople. Some of whom came as part of the Presidential business delegation and others were representatives of the South African companies that already have a presence in China. The China Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund) as the co-organiser mobilised over 100 Chinese businesspeople based on their knowledge of the South African market and the areas of potential investment and business cooperation between South Africa and China.
The opening session in the morning was addressed by the Minister of the dtic, Honourable Parks Tau who welcomed the delegates and emphasised the key areas of interest from South Africa in the Chinese market including the automotive industry and especially electric vehicles, green hydrogen, mining and energy storage, infrastructure, special economic zones and the digital economy. The opening session also witnessed the signing of 5 cooperation agreements between South African and Chinese entities that covered various sectors.The panel discussions of the Forum included on (i) mining and energy; (ii) agriculture and manufacturing; (iii) services and infrastructure. |
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Following the business Forum in the morning, the high-level closing session was held in the afternoon. The closing session was addressed by President Ramaphosa who delivered the key-note address and highlighted the importance of South Africa’s economic, trade and investment relationship with China. The President emphasised that the Forum “is an opportunity for exchanges and sectoral conversations that will enable us to intensify our efforts to improve our trade and investment relationship between our two countries and to use it as a means to strengthen our economic relations.”
Following the conclusion of the Forum, the President held two closed door business roundtable sessions. First, with the senior leadership of up to 17 high-level Chinese investors and second, with leading South African companies that are operating in China and are the founding members of the South Africa-China Business Association.
In addition to the official State Visit and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the South Africa-China Presidential Business Forum was a key positive outcome of the State Visit to China. The success of the Forum and the closed business roundtable events will no doubt result in significant increased levels of investment from China to South Africa and lead to increased business activity between both countries. |
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Economy & Trade
Ambassador SC Cwele attended and participated in the Second Sinoma Cement Green and Intelligence Summit (SCGIS) held in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on 17 May 2024. Prior to the Conference the Ambassador paid an on-sight visit to the Sinoma Southern Cement Intelligent Cement Production Plant in Hefei, Anhui Province on 16 May 2024. |
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The Ambassador’s participation in the conference was necessitated by Sinoma Cement’s 20 some years investment in the South African cement and building materials sector, largely partnering with existing cement companies in South Africa to upgrade and modernise their cement plants. |
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Sinoma cement is now the largest cement manufacturing company in the world and is a global leader in cement technology, equipment and engineering system integration.
The Second SCGIS is an international platform to exchange ideas and promote industry cooperation for the high-quality development of the global cement industry with a focus on green and low-carbon development, digital design, intelligent management, cutting edge cement engineering technology, traditional market expansion. It was the intention of the SCGIS for CNBM and Sinoma cement to showcase to their clients, industry associations, academics and foreign government leaders with a comprehensive overview on its latest research and application achievements in the green and digital intelligence field of the cement industry and building materials sector at large.
The opening ceremony of the SCGIS was addressed by Mr Ma Xin, Executive Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province, Mr Li Xinhua, General Manager of CNBM Group, Mr Yin Zhisong, Chairman of Sinoma International and H.E the Ambassador to Ethiopia to China.
Ambassador SC Cwele delivered a key-note speech at the opening ceremony of the Summit and informed the high-level Chinese investment audience that “the fundamentals of South Africa’s cement industry remain sound. The South Africa market size for cement reached approximately 14 million tons in 2023 or $6 billion. The market is projected to grow at 2.5% between 2024 and 2032, reaching around 18 million tons by 2032.” |
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The Ambassador welcomed Sinoma and CNBM’s current and future investments in South Africa’s building materials sector and informed the Summit that South Africa warmly welcomes Chinese investors to partner with South Africa for win-win cooperation. |
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Corporate Service
The Embassy in Beijing was identified by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as a Polling Station. |
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Voting took place at the Embassy on 18 May 2024 from 7am to 7pm. Officials at the Embassy were Electoral Officers and manned the Polling Station on behalf of the IEC. The Embassy issued several communication flyers to the public to register to vote at the Embassy in Beijing. Thereafter, reminders and communication flyers were issued through the Embassy’s Wechat site reminding the public of voting day, to check their voting station on the IEC site, to carry their SA ID on voting day. |
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The Embassy is pleased to announce that the voting process was free and fair with a turnout of more than 50% voters who registered in Beijing. This was an improvement in the turnout as compared to the previous election in 2019. The process was overseen by party observers and officials as required by the IEC.
In addition to the activity of voting, the Embassy used this opportunity to encourage South African citizens (SACs) to register themselves on the Embassy’s database of SACs in China. |
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Political
Meeting with Vice President of Wuhan University, Prof. Tang Qizhu |
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On 20 March 2024, Ambassador SC Cwele accompanied by some Embassy officials, had a meeting with Prof. Tang Qizhu, the Vice President of Wuhan University in Hubei Province. Wuhan university has a number of South African students studying various fields. To this end, the purpose of the meeting with the leadership of the university was to foster and consolidate relations between South Africa and China in the area of Higher Education and Training. During the engagements, Prof. Qizhu indicated that Wuhan University will work on increasing enrolment of South Africa students as well as providing scholarships to the said students. |
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Meeting with the Vice Governor of Hubei Provincial Government, Madame Chen Ping |
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In the afternoon of 20 March 2024, Ambassador SC Cwele accompanied by colleagues from the Embassy, had a meeting with Madam Chen Ping, Vice Governor of Hubei Provincial Government. The purpose of the visit to the province was to identify opportunities for bilateral cooperation (economic, cultural, people-to-people exchanges, educational and tourism) between Hubei Province and South Africa. During the meeting, Madame Ping reported that People to People Exchange Mechanism between South Africa and China is one of the measures of relations between the two countries and that she was delighted the visit to Hubei by the Embassy achieved that goal. |
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Defence
Visit Naval Command College at Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on 21 March 2024
On 21 March 2024, Defence Attache of the South African Embassy in Beijing, Brig. Gen. W M Bucibe visited the South African National Defence Force member, who is a student at Naval Command College in Nanjing.
Cdr. Zanele Madiba, who forms part of the International Military Exchange Group (IMEG) of the Naval Command College (NCC), is attending Naval Command and Staff Program, which started 16 November 2023 and ends on 26 July 2024. |
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Brig. Gen. W M Bucibe had a fruitful meeting with the Vice President of the College, Rear Admiral Zhang Yueliang, and Cdr. Zanele Madiba with the staff attended. After the meeting, Brig. Gen. W M Bucibe and Rear Admiral Zhang Yueliang exchanged official gifts.
The Commandant of the college reported that Cdr. Zanele Madiba is a well discipline Officer and dedicated to her studies. The student also registered for master program with the college and will be completed in 2025 through distance learning mechanism. |
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Corporative Services
Meeting with South African students in Wuhan City, Hubei Province from 20 to 22 March 2024
The Ambassador and officials from the Embassy undertook a trip to Wuhan City in Hubei Province from 20 to 22 March 2024. The Ambassador and officials met with South African students, teachers and businesspeople on 22 March 2024. This was part of the outreach awareness campaign, which the Embassy has embarked on. The engagement and interaction were fruitful and successful. The group commented that this was the first time since they are in China that such a get together was organised. During the engagement, the officials stressed the importance of the dos and don’ts in China and also what the Government can and cannot do, should South Africans find themselves in distress. The group was requested to take the handouts and message from the engagement to the greater South African community in China. |
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Political
A Working Lunch with the Executive President of Energy China: Southern and Eastern African Regional Headquarters
On 29 February 2024, the Executive President of Energy China, Mr Shen Chen, hosted Ambassador SC Cwele for a working lunch. Mr Shen hosted Ambassador SC Cwele with a view to update him about Energy China planned operation in South Africa’s energy sector. Mr Shen, who left for South Africa on 3 March 2024, informed Ambassador SC Cwele that in Energy China participated in two successful workshops which were organised by ESKOM aimed at addressing South Africa’s electricity challenges. Mr Shen’s visit to South Africa this month is the second one since he last visited Southy Africa in November 2023. Mr Shen indicated that Energy China had already dispatched its engineers who visited Medupi and Kusile power plants.
Courtesy Call on the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to China
In the afternoon of 29 February 2024, Ambassador SC Cwele paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador of Palestine to China, HE Mr Fariz Mehdawi.
Ambassador SC Cwele informed his host that he deemed it fit to visit the Ambassador of Palestine as a symbolic gesture for South Africa’s unwavering support for the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and statehood. He stated that the current atrocities which meet all criteria for a genocide against the Palestinian people by the State of Israel should be condemned with contempt it deserves as it is brutal, inhumane and against international law.
Courtesy Call on Ambassador SC Cwele by the Ambassador of Ethiopia to China
The new Ambassador of Ethiopia to China, HE Mr Tefera Derbew Yiman paid a courtesy call on Ambassador SC Cwele on 1 March 2024 at the Embassy of South Africa in Beijing. Ambassador SC Cwele warmly welcomed the Ambassador of Ethiopia. He noted that Ethiopia remains as the symbol of African unity and expressed his hope that the new Ambassador of Ethiopia would bring more impetus to the work of the Group of African Ambassador to China particularly considering the upcoming FOCAC summit which will be hosted by China in the second half of 2024. Ambassador Cwele also indicated that now that Ethiopia is a member of the BRICS, South Africa is looking forward to work with Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates on matters affecting the global South. He emphasised the fact that the expansion of BRICS is a positive step towards the right direction in advancing the interests of developing countries.
The Ambassador of Ethiopia took the opportunity to express Ethiopia’s appreciation for South Africa’s support during its bid to join BRICS in 2023. He recalled what he termed “long standing relationship between Ethiopia and South Africa” based on mutual respect, brotherhood, and fraternity. He also acknowledged the role that South Africa is playing in the resolution of conflicts on the African continent including the facilitation of the Pretoria Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities between the Government of Ethiopia and Tigray People’s Liberation Front which was signed on 2 November 2022. |
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Economy & Trade
Ambassador SC Cwele led the Mission’s trade and investment engagement with East China Engineering Science and Technology Company
Ambassador SC Cwele led the Mission’s trade and investment engagement with high-level Chinese investor, East China Engineering Science and Technology Company (ECEC) from 21 to 24 February 2024 in Hefei, Anhui Province. The Ambassador was received by Mr Li Lixin, Chairman of ECEC and his senior management team. |
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Chairman Li briefed on ECEC’s proposed project to be implemented in South Africa and to explore tangible trade and investment opportunities for the company in South Africa’s petrochemicals sector. In this regard, on the side-lines of the BRI Forum in Beijing last year, ECEC signed an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with South African company Nyanza Light Metals to construct a petrochemicals facility in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ). The project will deliver 80, 000 tons per annum titanium dioxide (TiO2) plant that will cost R15bn to complete over 35 months. This is a significant investment into the South African economy.
Chairman Li pointed out that the project is China's first Sulphate Process TiO2 EPC project implemented overseas. After the completion of the project, it will become the first modern TiO2 plant in South Africa and the only titanium dioxide project in Africa, which can effectively meet the domestic demand of South African and the African continent market, reduce foreign exchange consumption, and at the same time promote the upgrading of industrial structure and promote employment and income generation. |
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As this project is registered as a Presidential strategic priority project, it is important for the South African Embassy in Beijing, supported by the Consulate in Shanghai, to support the project and address any issues that may arise. This will elevate the investment to national status and allow the company to access all the national tools that have been made available to high-level investors. The Ambassador reiterated the Mission’s mandate to assist investors in the process of doing business in South Africa.
Ambassador SC Cwele accompanied Minister Patel in attending the meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce
Ambassador SC Cwele accompanied Minister Patel in attending the bilateral meeting with Mr Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China on March 5 in Beijing. The two sides focused on exchanging views on implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation. |
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China is willing to work with South Africa to create more convenient conditions for enterprises of the two countries to deepen trade and investment cooperation. Minister Patel hopes to further expand the export of industrial products and agricultural products to China and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in South Africa and expand cooperation in the fields of new energy vehicles and batteries. |
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Defence
South African National Defence Force Armed Forces Day 2024
The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in China hosted the South African National Defence Force Armed Forces Day event on 21 February 2024 in Beijing. In attendance were the representatives of the Office of International Military Cooperation, Defence Attaches of Beijing Military Attaches Corps and some representatives from military industry in China. |
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Established on 27 April 1994, the South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year. Last year, South Africa and China celebrated 25 years of diplomatic relations, which further strengthened military-to-military relations and cooperation. The two sides have achieved fruitful exchanges and cooperation in fields such as joint training and exercises, academic education, medical and health care, and equipment technology. In 2024, South Africa will continue to cooperate with China in advancing the bilateral relations to a higher level and make new and greater contributions towards a better and safer world. |
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Visiting Dalian Naval Academy, Liaoning Province
On 29 February 2024, Defence Attache of the South African Embassy in Beijing, Brig. Gen. W M Bucibe visited the South African National Defence Force member, who is a student at Dalian Naval Academy. |
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Lt A. Khan, who forms part of the International Military Exchange Group (IMEG) of the Dalian Naval Academy (DNA) is attending Surface Ship Junior Command Program which started 01 September 2023 to end on 30 July 2024.
Brig. Gen. W M Bucibe had a fruitful meeting with the vice president of the Academy Sr. Capt. Song Hui present was Lt A. Khan with the staff including the lecturers. |
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