On June 22, 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council met respectively with South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and CEO of the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Firmino Mucavele in Cape Town.

Wen told Mlambo-Ngcuka that his visit to South Africa has achieved a great success. He and President Tbabo Mbeki reached broad consensus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and signed a range of important agreements including the "Program of Cooperation on Deepening the Strategic Partnership" between China and South Africa. Both countries are developing bilateral relations in the principles of mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit; therefore such relations enjoy a firm foundation. It is believed that with the Program being implemented, bilateral relations will surely make further progress.

Wen indicated that the two countries are partners with common development priorities. China supports South Africa's Accelerated and Shared Growth initiative designed to promote economic and social development and is willing to offer assistance for its human resources development.

Mlambo-Ngcuka noted that she was delighted with the important achievements of Premier Wen's visit, holding that the "Program of Cooperation on Deepening the Strategic Partnership" and other documents between China and South Africa will open up wide prospect for their future cooperation. The implementation of the Program can promote South Africa's Accelerated and Shared Growth initiative and shows China's support and help for the development of a new South Africa. The South African side appreciated and thanked for this, expressing willingness to conduct cooperation with China in such priority areas as infrastructure, minerals and human resources development.

Meeting with Mucavele, Wen said that China lists its collaboration with NEPAD as an important part of China-Africa friendly cooperation. Since the establishment of China-Africa Cooperation Forum in 2000, China has set forth a series of pragmatic cooperation measures including debt relief, tariff relief and personnel training, increased aid to Africa and carried out various forms of cooperation with African countries in infrastructure, poverty alleviation, communicable diseases prevention and treatment, human resources development and agriculture identified by the NEPAD as priority areas. As China-Africa Cooperation Forum and the NEPAD share the same goals in pushing for mutually beneficial cooperation and promoting common development, as well as identical priority areas for development, there is huge potential for their better cooperation. It is hoped that both sides can enhance contact and coordination and establish a long-acting cooperation mechanism in order to reinforce their practical cooperation. China will give more support to the priority areas of the NEPAD through bilateral and multilateral channels.

Mucavele thanked China for attaching importance to Africa and supporting the NEPAD. He said that African countries are looking forward to closer cooperation with China and hope that China will continue paying attention to the continent to become its partner in its efforts to get rid of poverty and achieve development.