China (Shandong)-South Africa Industrial Cooperation matchmaking was successfully held
On Monday Zhang Haibo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Governor of Shandong Province, led a Shandong Provincial Government delegation to visit South Africa.
During the period, the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province and the Shandong Development and Reform Commission jointly held the China (Shandong)-South Africa Industrial Cooperation Matchmaking in Johannesburg.
Zhang Haibo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Governor of Shandong Province, Pan Qingjiang, Consul General of China in Johannesburg, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (MPL), and other guests delivered speeches.
More than 100 South African government departments, business associations, and corporate representatives including the BRICS Council and the African Business Federation attended the meeting.
Invest SA, Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, China-Africa Development Fund, Shandong Development and Reform Commission, Yantai Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Hisense Group, Sinotruk Group, SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction and other units made presentation at the meeting.
The 28 Shandong companies accompanying the delegation had pragmatic and in-depth discussions and exchanges with representatives of South African companies and business associations.
In his speech, Vice Governor Zhang Haibo introduced the economic and social development of Shandong and the cooperation and exchanges between Shandong and South Africa. He said that this year marks the 26th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa.
On September 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa jointly announced that China-South Africa relations would be upgraded to an All-Round Strategic Cooperative Partnership in the new era, which pointed out the direction for the high-level development of China-South Africa relations and the promotion of exchanges and cooperation between China and South Africa.
Shandong and South Africa are both important nodes of the "Belt and Road Initiative". The two sides have a long history of exchanges and are important trading partners of each other. As the first pair of provincial-level sister cities in the two countries, Shandong Province and the Western Cape Province have experienced 26 years of friendly exchanges.
The cooperation relationship between the two sides has developed rapidly, the cooperation areas have continued to expand, and the results of cooperation have continued to emerge. This cooperation and exchange meeting is a vivid practice and concrete action to implement the China-South Africa Joint Statement and the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.
The Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government are willing to work with all sectors of South Africa to embrace the development opportunities of the "Belt and Road Initiative", deepen cooperation in the fields of economic and trade exchanges, clean energy development, scientific and technological innovation, and cultural exchanges, and strive to achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results.
Wang Peng, a director of the West Asia and Africa Division of the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, introduced that Shandong Province attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with African countries.
On the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit, Shandong and South Africa have achieved fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation. In 2023, Shandong's trade volume with Africa was $28.86 billion (R522bn), ranking among the top provinces and cities in China. It has invested in and built six provincial overseas cooperation parks, 13 provincial overseas warehouses, and independently held four African exhibitions in Africa.
A large number of projects such as the China-Sudan Agricultural Cooperation Development Zone, Hisense South Africa Industrial Park, Sinotruk CKD Assembly Line, and Kenya International Industrial Expo have become case examples of China-Africa cooperation.
A large number of outstanding Shandong companies such as Shandong Expressway, SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction, Qingdao Haier, Jinan Yuxiao, Weihai International, and Linyi Zhongyang Industry have entered Africa and taken root in Africa, making important contributions to the economic and social development of African countries.
At present, South Africa has become Shandong's third largest trading partner in Africa, with a trade volume of $2.63bn 2023. The Hisense South Africa Industrial Park invested and built by Hisense Group in South Africa has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million units and was selected as a typical cooperation case by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.
The 550CM refrigerator products represent the first batch export of South African home appliance manufacturing industry to the European market. The South Africa International Industrial Expo and China (South Africa) International Trade Expo independently developed and organised by Inter Commerce Expo Corporation(known as Golden Bridge Expo in South Africa), have been successfully held for three sessions, attracting extensive participation from Chinese and African companies.
"Shandong Good Products" such as Sinotruk, Tsingtao Beer, Qingdao Haier, Weichai Power, Lovol Agricultural Machinery, Linglong Tire, etc. are well-known in South Africa.
Through the exchanges at the conference, both sides fully realised that Shandong Province and South Africa have a good foundation for industrial cooperation, strong complementarity in the industrial sectors, and huge business opportunities for cooperative development. The delegates expressed a common wish that the two sides can strengthen exchanges, enhance friendship, deepen cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
They look forward to the joint efforts of the governments, business associations and enterprises of both sides to earnestly implement the development blueprint jointly drawn up by the heads of state of the two countries and work together to promote the high-level, high-quality and rapid development of industrial cooperation between Shandong Province and South Africa.
According to preliminary statistics, a total of six companies reached trade intentions of about $27 million at this industrial matchmaking meeting, achieving pragmatic cooperation results.
BUSINESS REPORT