Africa-China bilateral discussions
16 January 2009
Opening remarks by South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma
Iâd like to welcome Minister Yang and his delegation; it is a great pleasure
to welcome you to this southern tip of Africa. It is part of Africa that is
very important â itâs where the two oceans meet. Of course, we are next to a
place which is very famous for whale watching â there is a time when the whales
migrate and everyone goes to see them. We are happy because this almost marks
the end of what we began last year with your own visit to South Africa and the
10th anniversary ceremony which saw a lot of activities between our two
countries and indeed, they were very successful events that were undertaken
between our two countries. And of course, last year saw the spectacular
Olympics, both in terms of the opening and closing ceremonies which were really
spectacular but also in terms of the Chinese achievement of gold medals so we
would like to congratulate you on this.
We have also experienced some changes in South Africa, there was a change of
head of state and you have just had an opportunity to meet President Motlanthe
who replaced President Mbeki. We are also going to have major national
elections in the coming months but we do not think there will be major changes
in the political landscape in South Africa. There are new parties that have
emerged but we think that at the end of the elections nothing will change
much.
And of course, we are also looking forward to having the strategic dialogue
that started in 2007 and keep the momentum thereof.
We also closed last year with a very big financial crisis that was hitting
developed countries but of course, that has consequences for the economic
slowdown that it has produced for us all and I look forward to a discussion to
hear how that crisis is impacting on the Peopleâs Republic of China as we will
also share our views on how it is impacting on the South African economy. We
will continue working together as we move towards the G-20 meeting that is
planned for London.
Of course, we are also going to be sharing our views on how to strengthen
the forum between Africa and China and we will exchange some views on the
regional and global issues that we both have common interests in.
These are just a few words to say you are very welcome and we look forward
to a very fruitful discussion.
Opening remarks by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
Minister Dlamini Zuma, it is my great pleasure to visit South Africa just a
year after my last visit. I want to thank you for your kind invitation and warm
hospitality. This is our fourth meeting in 12 months.
Both China and South Africa are important developing countries when the
international situation is undergoing profound changes and new problems and
challenges continue to emerge. It is important that we have regular meetings.
This will enable our two countries to enhance co-ordination, communication,
co-operation on our bilateral relationship and on major international and
regional affairs so as to deepen the strategic partnership between our two
countries.
The just departed year of 2008 was an important one in the history of South
AfricaâChina relations. We used the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations and made great strides in co-operation
between our two countries.
In the political arena our two sides conducted regular, high-level exchanges
and political consultations and further deepened mutual political trust between
China and South Africa. The top leaders of both countries met each other during
the G-8 Outreach session and the G-20 financial summit during which they
exchanged views on issues of shared interest.
The exchanges and co-operation between the ruling parties of our two
countries became closer. Our two countries conducted close co-ordination and
co-operation in the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral
occasions as regards major international and regional issues and hotspot
issues. Your Excellency and I exchanged visits and our two foreign ministries
conducted the first strategic dialogue in Beijing. Like the South African side,
we also look forward to our next strategic dialogue. South Africa gave China
valuable support on issues that concerned Chinaâs core interests such as Taiwan
and Tibet related issues. You also gave us valuable support in the efforts of
the Chinese government and people to fight the earthquake disaster and during
the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are appreciative of your
support.
Our economic co-operation and two-way trade registered further growth. In
the cultural and people to people sector, the two sides attached great
importance to bilateral exchanges and co-operation and organised a variety of
such activities which helped to deepen mutual understanding and friendship
between the people of our two countries. Our two countries also increased
communication and co-operation in addressing the financial crisis.
Honourable minister, I also look forward to an in-depth and wide-ranging
discussion with you on some of the issues you mentioned. I am sure that this
visit will help to deepen the strategic partnership between our two
countries.
Thank you
Press conference
Comments by Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, we have welcomed the minister from the
Peopleâs Republic of China and his delegation and we are very please to have
him with us. We hope he keeps this habit of beginning his year by visiting
South Africa â he did so last year and now this year, so we have become
accustomed to hosting him. Last year was a very good year for relations between
China and South Africa. We were counting and realised that in 12 months, we
have met at least 4 times. Last year was also a very big year for us in terms
of the commemoration of the 10 years of the establishment of diplomatic
relations between China and South Africa and we took advantage of that and
organised a lot of activities between South Africa and China to make sure that
our co-operation reaches new heights.
We had South Africa week in April where we participated in four cities â in
terms of discussions between ourselves and the authorities there, cultural
exchanges, we participated and took advantage of the Beijing Olympics and we
took the opportunity to congratulate the minister and the people of China
because we think it was one of the most spectacular Olympics we had seen but
also because of the large number of gold medals won by the Chinese team.
We also had very important trade exhibitions and of course, there were
activities in South Africa that we believe exposed both our peoples to each
other. It was a huge success and we have now discussed what we want to do this
year and there are already a number of activities lined up â the binational
commission, the strategic partnership dialogue, we are also going to meet in
Egypt at the China-Africa Forum (FOCAC) ministerial meeting following the
summit that took place in Beijing in 2006, we are going to co-operate at the
United Nations (UN) during discussions on UN reform, we worked very well
together at the UN Security Council when South Africa was a non-permanent
member. We also discussed the global financial crisis and the effects thereof
in our countries. We have also discussed some of the regional issues. So we
have had a very extensive discussion and we will continue our interaction over
dinner. We value this opportunity to exchange views and co-ordinate a whole
range of issues that affect us both.
Minister, you are very welcome.
Comments by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
Thank you, Minister Dlamini Zuma and members of the press. It is a great
honour for me to be here in your country. I thank Minister Dlamini Zuma for the
invitation to visit your country. Yes, this is my second visit to South Africa
and you will see many returns of my visit here because South Africa is a very
important country on the world arena. The purpose of my visit here is to deepen
our mutual co-operation and understanding for the benefit of our two peoples
and the benefit of our regions and the world.
I thank the South African government, especially my dear colleague for
making arrangements for my visit. I had the privilege to call upon President
Motlanthe this morning and I very much enjoyed my discussions with my colleague
this afternoon. We have reached wide-ranging consensus on many important areas
of co-operation both bilaterally and multilaterally. I very much subscribe to
what the foreign minister has said about the significance of the activities
surrounding the celebration of the 10 years of diplomatic relations between the
two countries. I would particularly like to express my appreciation to the dear
minister for taking the time and trouble to come to China to observe the Africa
week in April last year and that was certainly one of the highlights of the
celebrations which I believe have deepened our mutual understanding and
friendship and have really elevated our relationship to a new high.
Coming to our talks this afternoon, I would like to echo what the foreign
minister said about the positive results of our discussions, we both agree that
we should maintain high level exchanges of visits and contacts and certainly
the binational commission should hold its next session this year because this
is a very important vehicle for comprehensive review of our relationship and
overall co-ordination of our interaction in the years to come and then the
strategic dialogue between the two foreign ministries should also be held
sometime this year and we would also like to see more interaction between the
various departments of the two governments.
On the trade and economic side, our trade volume is on the upswing and there
is a lot more that should be done to increase our trade volume both ways and to
stimulate investment in both of our countries. Against the backdrop of the
international financial crisis it is important for our two countries to pool
our wisdom and resources together to ensure that in spit of these trying times,
China and South Africa/Africa will be able to maintain their growth momentum
and we will be able to urge the international community to maintain the high
level of input into the development area and certainly, China believes that the
international community should be no means reduce its aid programme investment
levels in Africa and China will by no means cut its aid to Africa. On the
contrary, we will continue to have a vigorous aid programme here and Chinese
companies will continue to invest as much as possible in Africa because it is a
win-win solution. We and South Africa really have a good partnership in the
economic areas and given the complementary nature of our economic activities, I
believe that there are broad prospects for future growth.
We very much welcome South Africaâs participation the Shanghai World Expo to
be held in 2010 and likewise, we wish you a very successful World Cup to be
held in South Africa. We also believe it is very important to enrich the
cultural interaction between our two peoples which actually provides the very
basis for the furtherance of our relationship in the long term. We have also
covered some other international issues and I must pay high tribute to the very
positive and important role played by South Africa in the international arena
particularly when South Africa served as a non-permanent member on the UN
Security Council.
Looking forward to a new year, we believe that a lot more can be done to
promote bilateral co-operation and promote our exchanges of co-operation in the
international arena so again, I will say that this for me is a very meaningful
visit and I would like to thank the honourable Foreign Minister for the kind
visit and her singular contribution to China-South Africa relations.
Thank you
Questions and answers
Question: South Africa will hold elections this year; will this set the
tone for a change in relations between the two countries? Minister Yang, will
Chinese relations with South Africa remain the same?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) Yes, there is going to be an election and
clearly our democratic institutions are all in place and all working very well.
Elections will be a success. We are confident that our electoral commission
will run these elections as they have before. So there will be no major
changes. Elections will come and go and a new government will be in place.
National elections in South Africa are a national internal South African
affair. South Africa is a major regional and international player. I guess the
Chinese people will follow the elections quite closely but we firmly believe
that China-South Africa relations will continue its solid progress in the year
2009 and beyond.
Question: Minister Dlamini Zuma, 2008 marked the 10 year anniversary
between China and South Africa â how do you expect the future of relations to
progress and in what areas?
Answer: (Minister Dlamini Zuma) Our relations with China â firstly we are
strategic partners and we co-operate in a whole range of areas â the economic
level in terms of promoting trade and investments between our two countries;
people to people and cultural exchanges; science and technology; and a whole
range of other areas. We also co-operate in the multilateral arena â China has
been very supportive of our engagement in Africa in peace and security areas
besides Africa-China co-operation so we value and think our relations are very
important although they are only a decade long.
A lot has happened â our trade and economic relations have really grown but
there is a lot more we can do. We have been working very closely in the
international fora â the UN, the IAEA and many other areas. We think it is very
important for China and South Africa to work, co-operate, co-ordinate and share
information on how to advance this co-operation for mutual benefit for our two
peoples. The past decade has been very good and we are now planning for the
second decade in our relations and we are confident that the second decade will
be even better because we have learnt lots of lessons and laid a good
foundation so we are ready to take off in the next decade. So I think these
relations can only get better and our understanding will improve and our
co-operation will get better and better.
Question: Minister Yang, what effect will the ongoing financial crisis
have on China-Africa relations?
Answer: (Minister Yang) With regard to Chinaâs approach to dealing with the
ongoing financial crisis, let me say firstly, this crisis has exerted a
negative impact on the Chinese economy and we think that the basically China is
still in good shape and we can expect reasonably good growth for this year. The
Chinese government has announced a huge stimulus package compromising 10
important measures which are designed to improve the livelihood of the Chinese
people and to generate more domestic demand and consumption. We believe that
for China to maintain stable and rapid economic development of and in itself is
a major contribution to dealing with the financial crisis in the world and the
top priority for the international community is to contain this financial
crisis and prevent it from spreading further into.
In that sense, it is also important for China to take an active part in
international deliberations in this vitally important issue, hence Chinaâs
active participation in the Washington financial summit and naturally the
country can be expected to play an active role in the forthcoming London
Summit. We believe it is very important for us to work hard with the developing
countries, especially those in Africa.
Like China, Africa is also a victim of the financial crisis so China and
African countries should work together first of all we should share information
with each other and we should compare notes on how we look at the overall
picture and where things are going and what should be the necessary
countermeasures and second, I believe, we should have very good co-ordination
during international meetings to ensure that the meetings will lead to
positive, important results which will benefit the maintenance of the growth
trend in the world, to ensure that there is still enough input into
development, to ensure that the international financial system will be reformed
in such a way to benefit the developing countries, particularly to enlarge
their say and representation in international financial matters.
And thirdly, we believe that Africa should be well represented in
international financial meetings. It is a very important voice which needs to
be heard and respected. Specifically, for what China can do, as I said, China
will keep its promise of continuing to make investments in Africa, we will
continue with our aid programme, we will continue to carry out our promises of
the 2006 FOCAC Summit to reduce tariffs, to increase aid, to promote
co-operation, etc, etc. We will do our best to urge the international
community, particularly the developed countries to keep their pledge and to do
what is necessary for Africa by way of investment or aid. There is a lot that
we can do together. There is great promise for further increasing trade between
China and Africa which topped US$100 billion last year. China in that sense,
wants to increase its trade and investment with South Africa.
Question: Minister Yang, could you tell us what Chinaâs position is on the
situation in the Middle East. Secondly, earlier today, the European Union (EU)
said it would consider more stringent targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe. What
is Chinaâs position?
Answer: (Minister Yang). We are deeply concerned about what is going on in
the Gaza Strip. We believe that real actions should be taken to implement UN
Security Council resolution 1860. There should be an immediate ceasefire and
withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. We believe that the international
community should exert these efforts to alleviate this humanitarian crisis. We
believe that the goal should be the two countries â Israel and Palestine â
living together in peaceful co-existence so the current situation is
unacceptable.
With reference to the situation in Zimbabwe, we believe it is very important
for this government of national unity for the differences to be ironed out. It
would be in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe and we believe that
the upcoming talks and meetings are vitally important. We hope that things can
be worked out satisfactorily. On that note, South Africa pays tribute to what
SADC and South Africa are doing in mediating a solution. We do believe that
this issue fundamentally has to be solved by the various elements in Zimbabwe
and we believe that the stand taken by the African Union (AU) and SADC
particularly regarding the mediation are vitally important. We very much
respect and support this mediation. We do not think that sanctions are the way
out. This remains Chinaâs point of view.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
16 January 2009
