Joining Hands to Create a New Vision for China Africa Central South Cooperation Country | Central South | Vision

This is a banner of the BRICS summit filmed on August 17th in Johannesburg, South Africa. Shen Jizhong

This year is the South African Year of the BRICS.

This visit will further deepen South China relations, and the leaders of the two countries will sign multiple cooperation agreements to jointly promote the relationship between the two countries into a new era. South African Ambassador to China, Xie Shengwen, stated that the contact and interaction between the two heads of state will help promote the deepening of bilateral relations, and the two countries will also send delegations to visit each other in many fields in the future.

Practice has fully demonstrated that countries with different social systems and cultures can also engage in close cooperation and exchange, which is also the cornerstone of the next 25 years of development of China South relations. The development of China Africa relations can also provide reference for solving geopolitical dilemmas in the world. Only through unity, cooperation, and common development can countries achieve modernization goals.

Promoting economic and trade cooperation to a higher level

Ibrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa, stated that South Africa regards China as its most important economic and trade partner.

Stavros Nikolao, South African representative of the BRICS Business Council and executive of Aspen Pharmaceutical's Strategic Trade Planning Department, said that South Africa's bilateral trade with China accounts for about 68% of the total trade with the BRICS countries, and China is South Africa's largest trading partner among the BRICS countries. In 2022, South Africa's exports to China increased by 7%, while imports from China increased by approximately 16%.

Nikolao pointed out that the position of the BRICS countries in the global economy is increasingly rising, with the BRICS countries accounting for 31.5% to 32% of the global economy, surpassing the Group of Seven, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, etc., which accounts for about 30% of the global economy. This is the first face-to-face meeting between leaders of BRICS countries in four years. The theme of this BRICS summit is "BRICS and Africa: Deepening Partnership, Promoting Mutual Growth, Achieving Sustainable Development, and Strengthening Inclusive Multilateralism.". South Africa invites other African countries to attend the conference, and the entire African continent is currently implementing free trade zone agreements, which will provide opportunities for cooperation between China and the African business community.

Calling for a more just and reasonable international order

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South China and China, and both countries have many consistent positions in the international arena, both of which are members of the G20 and BRICS countries. South Africa is also the leader of the African continent, playing a key role in the African Union, and promoting a better connection between the 2063 Agenda of the African Union and China's "the Belt and Road" initiative. China is building more and more infrastructure projects on the African continent. We look forward to South China and Central Africa better promoting the reform of the United Nations Security Council under the BRICS mechanism, working together to address global crises through multilateralism, and promoting cooperation between China and Africa in areas such as trade, climate change, and health. In addition, both South and Central will participate in the G20 summit to be held in India later this year, and it is believed that the results of this BRICS summit will to some extent affect the G20 summit in India.

Meng Dawei stated that the global media is currently paying attention to the expansion of the BRICS, and many countries also want to join the BRICS. In today's world, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and other international institutions are dominated by the United States and the West. Developed Western countries rarely consider the concerns of developing countries on many issues. These countries applying to join the BRICS are hoping to enhance the voice and influence of developing countries through the BRICS mechanism, and build a more just and reasonable international order. This is consistent with the spirit of the Bandung Conference and closely related to China's global development initiative, global security initiative, and global civilization initiative. The meetings between leaders of BRICS countries and African countries, as well as the Chairman of African Regional Organizations, and the China Africa Round Table jointly chaired by Central and South Africa, will further promote the world towards multipolarity.

We look forward to this visit injecting new impetus into China South cooperation and China Africa cooperation once again. Currently, there is a growing demand for reforming the international order, especially the international financial order, as evidenced by the increasing number of countries applying to join the BRICS. The members of multilateral organizations such as the BRICS countries and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are mainly developing countries, and are currently working hard to promote the international order towards a more just and reasonable direction.