Johannesburg,South Africa

On Tuesday morning,President of South Africa,Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the President of China,Xi Jinping at Union Buildings,Pretoria on his fourth state visit to South Africa ahead of BRICS summit which is expected to commence later today.

South Africa and China celebrates 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and their relations is founded on a principle of One China Policy.

Cyril Ramaphosa has been praising China for its commitment on helping South Africans dating back during the apartheid era.

"The relationship between the people of South Africa and China stretches back many decades.We recall with deep gratitude the support of the Chinese people for our struggle for freedom and democracy.

"China has been a valued friend and developmental partner of South Africa throughout the course of rebuilding our country from the ruins of apartheid,"said Cyril Ramaphosa.

He continued to thanks the Chinese government for the support they given to South Africa and other African countries during the outbreak of COVID-19.

"I wish to make special mention of China's support during the COVID-19 pandemic through the provision of personal protective equipment,vaccines and other essential items to South Africa and other African countries.This support extended to the cancellation of the debt of a number of African countries.

"We thank you,President Xi,for these acts of generosity and solidarity.

"South Africa deeply appreciates China's support in addressing our current energy challenges.This includes the donation of emergency power equipment worth R167 million and availing a grant of approximately R500 million as development assistance,"added Ramaphosa.

Over the last five years,the Chinese companies committed themselves on investing more than R1.5 trillion in the country.

Over the years,both countries has strengthened and transformed their relations by agreeing to work on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that is underpinned by 10-Year Strategic Programmes of Cooperation.

President Ramaphosa said China and South Africa share common goals of economic growth,development and common prosperity for our respective countries and for all countries of the Global South.It is this common outlook that has enabled us to deepen our cooperation on several fronts.

According to Cyril Ramaphosa,South Africa maintains high-level cooperation with China in several areas.These include,but are not limited to,international politics,trade,investment,infrastructure development,science,innovation and education.

China is the largest trading partner of South Africa and South Africa is the biggest trading of China in Africa,also an important destination for China investment in Africa.

The bilateral trade between these two countries who are also members of BRICS bloc has grown exponentially from less than R1 billion in 1998 to over R614 billion in 2022.

Ramaphosa added that South Africa and China have similar views on the expansion of BRICS membership and we look forward to the discussions we will have on this matter during the BRICS Leaders' Retreat.

During the BRICS Summit,on the sidelines Xi Jinping will be co-chairing Africa-China Leaders' Roundtable whereby these leaders discussing new ways on growing relations between China and the African continent.