By Elezo Libanda
Johannesburg, August 22 China’s Xi Jinping arrives in South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. China’s President, Xi Jinping, has touched down in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport. President Ramaphosa welcomes his Chinese counterpart at OR Tambo International Airport: Xi is expected to meet with other heads of state for the 15th BRICS Summit, which kicks off in Sandton on Tuesday. Xi will also meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Tuesday morning before going to Johannesburg in the afternoon.
China’s interactions with African leaders will follow last month’s Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, where Russian President Vladimir Putin held court with the 17 African heads of state who attended out of the 54 African countries invited. Xi and African leaders will draw up a blueprint for cooperation to create jobs and improve livelihoods in Africa. Relations between South Africa and China are underpinned by a 10-year Strategic Programme of Cooperation entered into in 2019, and this visit is seen as an opportunity to assess progress in the areas of cooperation and collaboration.
The government says its trade with fellow BRICS members accounts for 21% of the country’s global trade, with China accounting for the lion’s share of the BRICS club’s trade with South Africa at 68%. President Cyril Ramaphosa said Pretoria has a lot to learn from Beijing, which has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty over a 40-year period. ~Nambia Daily News
