Parliament’s National Assembly (NA) is set to play a greater role in monitoring and overseeing government’s international commitments with China.
The nine-day official visit to China this month by NA Speaker Mr Max Sisulu, NA House chairperson for international relations Ms Mildred Oliphant and a delegation of senior Members of Parliament drawn from eight NA committees is laying the basis for more focused oversight of government’s international commitments with China.
The committees are International Relations and Cooperation, Water and Environmental Affairs, Energy, Science and Technology, Finance, Higher Education, Trade and Industry and Rural Development and Land Affairs.
A memorandum of understanding signed in 2006 between the national legislatures of China and South Africa set the scene for such focused oversight by establishing a Regular Exchange Mechanism between the NA and China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
During the August state visit to China by President Jacob Zuma, strengthening inter-parliamentary relations was identified as important to implementing commitments made by both governments in the Declaration on the Establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed with China’s President, Mr Hu Jintao.
The declaration commits the governments of the two countries to cooperate on trade, investment, transport, education, health, infrastructure development, energy, mining and environmental management, among others.
Since arriving in China on 21 October, Mr Sisulu and his delegation has held talks with the President of China Mr Hu Jintao, Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China Mr Wu Bangguo, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairman Mr Hua Jianmin, leader of the Chongqin Municipal People’s Congress, leader of the Chongqin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, leader of the Yichang Municipal People’s Congress, leader of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, leader of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and the executive committee of the South Africa-China Business Association, which comprises South African businesses with investments in China.
A number of commitments have been made in these meetings, among them further investment by China in South Africa and facilitating South African business investment in China. This is the case, for example, with Chongqing Municipality which already has a twinning relationship with Mpumalanga.
Chongqing has a population of about 31 million, is a hub between the eastern and western regions of China and is the largest city on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Parliament has also undertaken to facilitate South African business taking up investment opportunities in China.
The visit has strengthened relations between the two national legislatures and visits were mooted, in the near future, to South Africa by the Chinese leaders with whom meetings were held.
Also reaffirmed were undertakings to advance cooperation among developing countries and to develop common approaches to issues on the agendas of multilateral institutions. These include the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary component of the World Trade Organisation.
Cities, municipalities and provinces visited were chosen to enable the delegation to gain insight into the variety of challenges China is facing and its successes as it strives to reach its goal of establishing a “moderately wealthy society” across its vast country, with a balance between economic development and protection of the environment.
Source: Parliament of South Africa
