As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 2024, I want to express my sincere gratitude to friends from all communities who have long cared about and supported China’s development and China-South Africa relations.
I also wish to extend festive greetings to all fellow Chinese working, studying and living in South Africa.
The past 75 years have witnessed huge changes for China. The Communist Party of China united and led Chinese people of all ethnic groups to work diligently down the path of Chinese modernisation, and together achieved rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
In 1949, China’s per capita national income was only $27. Our economic output was less than 5% of the world’s total. In 2023, China’s per capita national income reached $13,000 and our economic output reached 17% of the world’s total. In the first half of this year, China’s GDP grew by 5%, and our foreign trade grew by 6.1%.
Over 70 years ago, China could not produce a single car. Watches, bicycles, and sewing machines, nicknamed “the Big Three”, were all luxury items for quite a long time for the Chinese people. By 2023, China’s automobile production and sales both exceeded 30 million vehicles, and China’s “New Big Three” products, namely electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells combined, surpassed the milestone of one trillion yuan in the value of total exports.
At the beginning of the founding of New China, 80 percent of the population were illiterate. By 2023, the average years of education for China’s new labour force was over 14 years. Each year, over 10 million students graduate from college in China.
In July this year, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was successfully held. The plenary session made holistic arrangements for further deepening reforms and promoting Chinese modernization, and proposed more than 300 new reform measures.
A China that enjoys high-quality development and high-level opening up will bring more opportunities to countries around the world. We Chinese people will never take the wrong path of seeking hegemony when one becomes strong. We just want to enjoy a better life for our own.
China adheres to the path of peaceful development and regards building a community with a shared future for mankind as the lofty goal of China’s diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era.
We have always viewed solidarity and co-operation with African countries as an important cornerstone of our foreign policy. We are committed to being a reliable friend and sincere partner on African countries’ paths to development and revitalization.
Earlier this month, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) was a great success. Chinese and African leaders unanimously agreed to elevate the overall positioning of China-Africa relations to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, highlighting the mutual strategic importance of China and Africa to each other.
President Xi Jinping announced a six-point proposal on China and Africa’s joint pursuit of modernisation and Ten Partnership Actions for the next three years. The Chinese government will provide financial support on this front, which will inject new and strong impetus into deepening China-Africa co-operation and leading the modernisation of the Global South.
As a diplomat who has long been engaged in African affairs, I am privileged to be the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa during this significant phase in the rapid advancement of China-South Africa relations. I am particularly pleased that I accompanied President Ramaphosa during His Excellency’s attendance at this Focac Summit and state visit to China earlier this month.
Through this visit, I have seen the strong political will of China and South Africa to deepen strategic mutual trust.
Our two Heads of State maintain close exchanges and communication and provide strong guidance to the development of bilateral relations.
Our two Heads of State also announced that China-South Africa relations have been upgraded to an All-Round Strategic Co-operative Partnership in the New Era, marking yet another leap in bilateral relations.
The two sides agreed to continue to firmly support each other on issues of core interests and major concerns. Particularly, the South African government reiterated its adherence to the one-China policy.
Through this visit, I have seen the strong momentum of China and South Africa in expanding mutually beneficial co-operation.
In the first half of this year, China imported $17.3 billion of goods from South Africa, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. More than 200 Chinese companies have invested or started businesses in South Africa, creating over 400,000 local jobs.
President Xi Jinping and President Ramaphosa witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral trade, co-operation on foot-and-mouth disease prevention and control, export of South African dairy products and greasy wool to China, human settlement, and scientific and technological cooperation.
President Ramaphosa visited tech companies such as BYD and Huawei in China’s Shenzhen. When he took an electric car for a test ride, he said: “I want it in South Africa!” I believe he means some day Chinese EVs will be made in South Africa.
China is ready to further optimise the bilateral trade structure with South Africa, increase market access and expand the export of high value-added products from South Africa.
We are ready to encourage more Chinese companies to invest and start businesses in South Africa, especially to strengthen co-operation in emerging fields such as digital economy, new energy, and AI, so as to elevate the economic and trade co-operation between the two countries to greater heights.
Through this visit, I have seen the deep foundation of our two peoples’ friendship over generations.
China and South Africa are separated by the oceans, but our peoples’ friendship goes back a long way and gets stronger over time. When Cape Town suffered from storms and down-pours this year, we handed over some relief supplies to local community residents.
I held a send-off event for South African athletes who were about to compete in the Climbing Youth World Championships in China’s Guiyang.
I also visited the Chinese Navy’s Peace Ark hospital ship, which came to South Africa for the first time, and provided free medical services to 3,700 South Africans.
At the opening ceremony of this year’s Focac Summit, Chinese children sang the theme song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Waka Waka. This once again reflected the enduring goodwill between our two peoples.
Through this visit, I have seen the firm determination of China and South Africa to jointly promote international fairness and justice.
China and South Africa are both important members of BRICS and the Global South. We have maintained close co-operation in international affairs for a long time and worked together to safeguard the common interests of our two countries and developing countries as a whole.
We agreed to resist unilateralism and protectionism, strengthen communication and coordination in multilateral institutions such as the UN and the BRICS, and jointly promote unity and cooperation in the Global South.
Next year, South Africa will host the G20 Summit. China will fully support South Africa’s rotating presidency and work together to ensure that G20 fulfils its essential function as a key platform for international economic co-operation.
As President Ramaphosa said after returning to South Africa, China-South Africa relations have entered a new “era of opportunity”.
China is ready to take the implementation of the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and President Ramaphosa as an opportunity. We will jointly pursue modernization, and work together to build a higher level of China-South Africa community with a shared future, so as to better benefit our two countries and peoples.
Wu Peng is Chinese Ambassador to SA.
The Star