On November 30, at the invitation of Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Ambassador Chen Xiaodong attended and addressed the Handover Ceremony of the First Consignment of Energy Equipment Donated by China, which took place in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province. About 300 delegates from various sectors attended the ceremony, including Minister Ramokgopa, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Deputy Minister of Health, and Li Zhigong, Consul-General of China in Durban.
Ambassador Chen recalled that at the beginning of this year when load-shedding was tough, China decided very quickly to provide support to South Africa, including emergency energy equipment, technical experts, expertise and personnel training, to help South Africa alleviate power shortage. In August this year, during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to South Africa, the two sides signed the Exchange of Letters for the Emergency Power Equipment Aid Project. Today's handover is an important step to implement the results of President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Africa. China will deepen coordination with South Africa and work for the early arrival of subsequent power equipment. We believe that under the strong leadership of the government, and with help from friends like China, South Africa will navigate the crisis at an early date.
Ambassador Chen pointed out, China and South Africa share a Comrades plus Brothers special bond. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa. During his visit to South Africa, President Xi Jinping agreed with President Ramaphosa to join hands to take our comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, and build a high-level community with a shared future, adding new meaning to our traditional friendship. China’s provision of power equipment to South Africa reflects our love and confidence for the South African people, demonstrates the true friendship between the two peoples in times of trouble, and will consolidate the public opinion and social foundation for our relations.
Ambassador Chen stressed that China and South Africa both face the historic task of speeding up energy transformation and securing sustainable economic development. Power and energy cooperation has become a driver and a highlight of our practical cooperation in recent years. During President Xi’s state visit, our two Presidents agreed to strengthen cooperation in electricity and energy, and witnessed the signing of a number of relevant cooperation documents. China is ready to work with South Africa to strengthen policy connection. We will encourage and support stronger energy and power cooperation between companies in wind and solar power, energy storage as well as power transmission and distribution, to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields and build a high-level community with a shared future.
Minister Ramokgopa said that the South African government and people are sincerely grateful for the strong support offered by China. In our most difficult time, only China extended us a helping hand, once again showing the solidarity and friendship between our two peoples. Some of the equipment has already been shipped to South African hospitals, schools and other public institutions, and has been warmly welcomed by the local people. South Africa will make good use of the equipment to bring real benefits to our people. With the help of China, we look forward to and have confidence in resolving the power crisis as soon as possible and achieving economic recovery and growth.
Deputy Minister of Health Dhlomo said that the healthcare industry is closely related to the South African people. Power demand in the healthcare industry is one of the greatest in all the industries, and major hospitals are now facing big pressure on power. We sincerely thank China for helping our medical system to cope with the challenge. We look forward to strengthening cooperation with China to jointly enhance the well-being of our two peoples.
