As China`s president, Xi Jinping, attends the BRICS summit this week, the bilateral relationship between South Africa and its largest trading partner is expected to grow. In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa notes the strength of this relationship and commits to working closely with China.
Dear fellow South Africans
This year marks 25 years of diplomatic ties between South Africa and the People`s Republic of China. Our bilateral relationship with our largest trading partner is almost as old as our democracy.
On Tuesday, we will receive Chinese President Xi Jinping on his fourth state visit to South Africa. President Xi will also participate in the 15th BRICS Summit, being hosted in Johannesburg.
In addition to a number of structured bilateral mechanisms, South Africa and China collaborate on international strategic platforms, such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation or FOCAC, BRICS, the G20, the G77 plus China alliance, and others.
Relations between the two countries is underpinned by a 10-Year Strategic Programme of Cooperation (2020-2029). President Xi`s visit is an opportunity to assess progress in the areas of cooperation and identify ways of deepening collaboration.
Cooperation and collaboration with China
Energy cooperation between South Africa and China is a focus area that holds great promise. In June this year, companies from both countries participated in a New Energy Investment and Cooperation Conference, which looked at opportunities for collaboration in the green economy, the just energy transition and on the transfer of science and technology.
There are already around 200 Chinese companies operating in this area in South Africa.
South Africa has a great deal to learn from China`s development path. Among other achievements, China has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty over a 40-year period. According to World Bank data, through this China has contributed close to three quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty.
As partners in development, China and South Africa have long shared a common understanding that trade and investment are the foremost catalysts for improving the living standards of our respective peoples.
South Africa is eager to deepen its collaboration within the frameworks of China`s common prosperity doctrine and strategy and our own National Development Plan and Economic Reconstruction and

Development Plan. South Africa is also keen to harness the developmental potential of China`s Belt and Road Initiative, announced by President Xi in 2013.
We are actively collaborating on the design and implementation of poverty alleviation strategies aligned with our respective developmental visions, as well as on women and youth empowerment.
As South Africa, we want to address the trade deficit between South Africa and China.
Tourism and trade
Bilateral trade with China has grown exponentially, from less than R1 billion in 1998 to more than R614 billion in 2022. We hope to use this state visit to discuss how to narrow the significant trade deficit that exists in China`s favour, mainly through facilitating greater entry of value-added South African goods, products and services into the Chinese market.
Tourism promotion is another area of cooperation. With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, China is an important source for tourism. It is significant that the number of visitors from China in June 2023 was four times higher than the same time last year.
South African tourism expects that inbound Chinese tourism will recover to pre-Covid-19 levels by 2026. We will be actively promoting our country as a tourism destination for Chinese tourists at the China International Import Expo, China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and others. It is encouraging that direct flights between South Africa and China are increasing.
In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20 group of countries, and we are encouraged by China`s support for our presidency. Our collaboration with China in international affairs and on multilateral platforms is underpinned by a commitment to the transformation of global governance institutions to make them more inclusive and to give more developing economy countries a voice.
We are encouraged by China`s ongoing commitment to supporting African countries to meet the aspirations contained in the African Union`s Agenda 2063, and to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
As we mark this significant milestone in South Africa-China relations, our country stands ready to work closely with the government and people of China towards a shared future of meaningful and mutual benefit. V.4939

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Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya appear in court to face illicit gold mining charges. Image: Thapelo Morebudi An investigation into illicit gold mining has uncovered how one of the accused obtained a fraudulent identity document, 12 years after arriving in SA. V.5594
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• Lesotho has rekindled moves to implement localisation rules for certain types of businesses dominated by foreigners. • Indians, Chinese and South Africans dominate the 47 reserved businesses. • SA firms will be under pressure to use local distributors, and not contract Basotho labour via SA-based agents. V.5587
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Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. CAPE TOWN - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that long queues, off-line systems, and paper-based applications at department offices would soon be a thing of the past. Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. V.5588
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‘There are various pathways and provisions in the law that recognise that people should not be stateless, and we are failing to ensure that these people have papers,’ says Global Movement Against Statelessness’ Christy Chitengu. Christy Chitengu was born in South Africa and regards herself as a South African, despite her parents being Zimbabwean. V.5589
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Inspection at workplaces set to increase Newly appointed home affairs minister Leon Schreiber will increase inspections at restaurants, spaza shops, farms and mines to heighten the crackdown on undocumented workers in these industries. Schreiber said while SA welcomes those who contribute to the country legally through skills, investments and as tourists, it needed to do more to combat illegal immigration. V.5592
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CAPE TOWN - Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber says since March, his department already reported 109 cases of document fraud to its counter corruption unit. Three officials have been convicted and sentenced during this same period. V.5593
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Key Takeaways • As of August 28, Canada has banned temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country. • The policy`s early termination is part of IRCC`s efforts to manage the influx of temporary residents and combat immigration fraud. • Starting September 26, 2024, Canada will cut the number of temporary foreign workers by about 65,000. Canada has recently launched a new policy that prohibits temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country, a decision that significantly impacts their ability to work and stay in Canada. V.5583
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The United Kingdom has long been a favoured destination for South Africans seeking work or residency, thanks to shared language, time zones, and historical ties. However, according to JP Breytenbach from Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the profile of South African migrants is changing. “There is a significant increase in business migration, with companies aiming to expand into the UK as a gateway to Europe or the US,” he shared in an interview with Biznews. Many of these South Africans businesses feel they have reached a ceiling in their local markets or are tech entrepreneurs who believe their products are not yet viable in South Africa. This year, new UK immigration rules are set to take effect as the country seeks to limit net migration. V.5584
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Applicants who prefer hard copies of ZEP waiver letters will still be able to collect them at branches. Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 3 July, 2024 in Cape Town. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced that the first batch of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) waiver applications has been processed. ZEP holders will no longer need to go to Home Affairs branches to find out the outcome of their applications. The department will be sending them out digitally. V.5585
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