China and South Africa signed 93 economic and trade agreements

40 enterprises, 80 delegations, 93 agreements, 27 billion rand project scale... These are the key figures of the "Sino-South Economic and Trade Cooperation Project Signing Ceremony" recently held in Cape Town, South Africa. South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry, Ibrahim Patel, was overwhelmed with excitement, saying that the firm support of China's partners will not only promote South Africa's economic development, but also create jobs for young people and strengthen South Africa's manufacturing base. The signing ceremony was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of South Africa. Ren Hongbin, Assistant Minister of Commerce, said that China had become South Africa's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years. South Africa had become China's largest trading partner in Africa for 9 consecutive years. In 2018, the total bilateral trade between China and South Africa reached 43.5 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.18% over the same period last year. China's investment in South Africa has made remarkable progress. At present, more than 180 large and medium-sized Chinese enterprises have invested and operated in South Africa, with a total investment scale of more than 10 billion US dollars. Patel is looking forward to cooperating with China in manufacturing capacity. Patel said that as the world's second largest economy, China's industrialization process has entered a mature stage, with a large number of advanced technology and surplus capacity. South Africa expects China to invest more in South Africa's manufacturing industry and actively transfer high-end manufacturing capacity to South Africa. Patel said that the investment practice of Beiqi in Koha Industrial Park in South Africa is a successful example. He looked forward to further strengthening cooperation in automotive, agricultural products processing, mining equipment, electronic products, pharmaceuticals and clothing and textiles.