By Chen Wenjun

In 1998, China and the new South Africa established diplomatic ties. Since then, both countries have been striving for the steady development of their relations, and realized a triple jump from a partnership to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Today, this relations have become one of the most dynamic and important bilateral ties in each other's respective foreign relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma attach great importance to developing bilateral relations, which is now in its best historical moment. Over the years, China and South Africa have maintained close high-level exchanges, and a multi-layered, wide-ranging and all-dimensional cooperation framework has taken shape. Driven by three engines of political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, the China-SA relations have become an example for China's cooperation with African countries and all developing countries.

China has for eight years in a row maintained South Africa's largest trading partner, injecting momentum for South Africa's economic development. Two-way trade in 2016 reached 35.3 billion US dollars, a more than 20-fold increase from the figure at the beginning of diplomatic engagement, and the bilateral trade from January to July 2017 recorded 22.7 billion dollars, increase by 32.9%. South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for seven consecutive years, and its products are taking increasingly greater share in the Chinese market. The export of such South African agricultural products as wine, rooibos tea and apples are trending upward fast. In early September 2017, the first batch of South African beef arrived in China, making South Africa the first African country to export beef to China. South Africa will export 20,000 tons of beef to China per annum in the next ten years.

South Africa is the top destination of Chinese investment in Africa, creating many jobs for South Africans. Chinese non-financial investment to South Africa has reached 15 billion dollars by June 2017, which is China's largest investment to a single African country. More than 300 Chinese enterprises from various fields are operating their business in South Africa, and they have paid a total of nearly 800 million dollars of taxes. A large number of Chinese advanced manufacturing enterprises have made investment and built their plants in South Africa. Hisense appliances manufacturing base in South Africa produces 400,000 refrigerators and televisions respectively per annum, creating 700 direct and 2000 indirect jobs. The Coega Plant of FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA (PTY) LTD manufactured 1,152 vehicles and employed 230 local workers in 2016. Ji Dong Development Group invested a total of 220 million dollars for a cement project in South Africa, and created over 200 jobs. Huawei launched its innovation center in South Africa in 2016, the first of its kind in Africa. Over 1,000 ICT personnel will be trained there in 5 years, helping the innovation development in South Africa and across the whole of Africa. China's Hoi Mor Group is participating positively in the planning and construction of the Musina Special Economic Zone to establish an energy and metallurgical industrial park, which is estimated to create over 21,000 jobs.

The fast growing China-SA financial cooperation ensures capital support for deeper mutually beneficial cooperation. Five Chinese financial institutions including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Construction Bank of China, Bank of China, China Development Bank and the China-Africa Cooperation Fund have a combined investment of over 6.6 billion dollars in South Africa, and provide loans of over 10 billion dollars to local companies, creating over 10,000 jobs and contributing tax payment of 100 million. In June 2015, Bank of China Johannesburg Branch got the first mandate of providing clearing services to 13 African countries, and its volume of clearing business has reached in CNY 61.8 billion Renminbi in 2016. The year 2017 also witnessed that BOC Johannesburg branch issued its first offshore RMB bond in Africa, or Rainbow Bond, achieving a groundbreaking milestone for RMB internationalization in Africa. A South Africa led off-shore RMB market is taking shape in Africa .

Highlights of China-SA people-to-people exchange keep emerging, setting a model for South-South cooperation. As a great pioneering effort in China-Africa relations, the Year of South Africa in China was held successfully in 2014, and the Year of China in South Africa in 2015. In April 2017, China and South Africa launched China-South Africa High-level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism, the first of its kind between China and an African country. A series of activities in technology, culture, education, health, media and youth brought a fresh wave of excitement to China-South Africa and China-Africa people-to-people exchange. South Africa is the top destination in Africa for Chinese tourists, and has more sister provinces/cities with China and hosts more Confucius institutes and classrooms as well as Chinese students than any other African country. In 2016, Chinese tourists to South Africa recorded 117,000, an increase by 38%. To date, about 1,000 Chinese students are studying in South Africa and about 1,500 South African students in China. More than 3,000 South African government officials and technicians have received training in China, covering such fields as agriculture, education, foreign affairs, energy, public management, quality inspection, quarantine and law-enforcement.

China and South Africa have kept close cooperation internationally as major powers to reform the global governance regime. As two major developing countries and emerging market economies, China and South Africa share identical or similar views on major international affairs and hot-spot issues, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and climate change. The two countries have effectively coordinated and cooperated with each other in such international organizations and multilateral mechanisms as the UN, G20, BRICS, Basic countries and the non-aligned movement, so as to reform and improve the global governance regime and safeguard the common benefits and rights of all developing countries. As co-chairs of the FOCAC, China and South African jointly ensured the full success of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, and have communicated and coordinated with each other over African peace and security issues. Both countries are committed to African unity and economic integration, and striving for China-Africa common development.

China-South Africa relations is now standing at a new historic starting point. China and South Africa need each other. The two countries enjoy great potential of cooperation, and are faced with a historic opportunity to synergize respective development strategies. South Africa has rich natural and human resources, and is famous for its social inclusiveness, well regulated market, and well-established legal system. As the strongest economy in Africa, South Africa could be the bridge connecting the Belt and Road initiative with the African continent. China, as the second largest economy, has a huge domestic market of 1.4 billion population and accumulated many advantages in terms of capital, technologies, enterprises and expertise. While China is promoting the supply-side structural reforms, South Africa is actively pursuing economic and social transformation. China will deepen its mutually beneficial cooperation with South Africa with a comprehensive approach, and stands ready to support South Africa to speed up industrialization and agricultural modernization and to further improve its independent sustainable development capacity. China supports South Africa to remain the leading goose in Africa, and become a locomotive to lead Africa's industrialization, so as to make China-SA relations an example for China-Africa relations.

In many ways, 2018 will be an important year: it will mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and South Africa; South Africa will assume the rotating presidency of the BRICS and host the 10th BRICS Summit; a new round of the FOCAC meeting will be held to steer the future China-Africa cooperation. China will seize these opportunities together with South Africa and fully leverage strengths of political mutual trust, economic complementarity, and the friendship between the two peoples, to translate the development potential into concrete and fruitful results that benefit the people, and ensure the continued development and upgrade of China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership.

Continue to promote the bilateral political trust. China and South Africa need to regard developing their bilateral ties as high priority with strategic vision, continue to strengthen strategic coordination, increase exchanges on governance and administration, and make joint efforts to ensure the success and practical outcomes of exchanges next year, such as the China-South Africa Joint Working Group meeting, the Strategic Dialogue, BRICS Summit, the new round of FOCAC meeting as well as exchanges between political parties. It is important that the two countries will continue to keep mutual understanding and support on issues of each other's core interests and major concerns.

Continue to strengthen the win-win trade and economic cooperation. China will expand its mutually beneficial cooperation with South Africa to cover a wider spectrum, including infrastructure, human resources, manufacturing and processing, agricultural modernization, ocean economy and finance, and encourage more Chinese enterprises to make investment in South Africa. China and South Africa should fully leverage the New Development Bank and its Africa Regional Center, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, so as to provide more capital resources to facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation. China will take proactive steps to support the efforts of the South African government to grow the economy, increase employment and improve people's livelihood. It should be the shared goal of China and South Africa to make practical cooperation more beneficial to the two peoples, especially the grassroots population in South Africa.

Continue to enhance bilateral people-to-people exchanges. On the basis of the High-level People-to-people Exchange Mechanism, China and South Africa can carry out more diverse activities in technology, culture, health, tourism, art, sports, media, and think tanks. Through these efforts, China and South Africa can increase mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, so as to strengthen mutual trust, and consolidate the popular support for China-South Africa friendship. China will encourage more Chinese companies to make investment in the tourism market of South Africa, including tourist resources and facilities development, and encourage more Chinese tourists to spend their holidays in South Africa, creating more jobs for the locals in the process.

Continue to deepen security cooperation. China is committed to supporting South Africa to strengthen capacity in security management and law enforcement, to build smart cities, and to develop a safe and secure South Africa, so as to ensure a safe environment for bilateral cooperation and investment. China will also support South Africa to contribute more to safeguarding the peace and security of the African continent.

Continue to forge closer international cooperation and coordination. China will strengthen its cooperation and coordination with South Africa on major global issues and on important international and regional platforms including the African Union, BRICS, G20 and the UN. China is committed to making joint efforts to uphold the rights and benefits of all developing countries, to ultimately bring about a peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

Nelson Mandela once said, after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. China will work together with South African colleagues and friends from all walks of life to strive for a better future of China-South Africa relations.