Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma will on Wednesday hold talks China’s top legislator Wu Bangguo, his office said on Tuesday.
Wu Bangguo and a delegation from China are in the country to visit Parliament to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations between China and South Africa at the invitation of Speaker of South African National Assembly Max Sisulu, the Presidency said.
In a written statement issued upon his arrival, Wu Bangguo, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislature, hailed that the way China-South Africa relations had advanced since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1998.
The two countries, both on a fast developing trajectory, have developed deeper political trust, achieved fruitful results in the bilateral cooperation and become very important partners on regional and international issues, Wu said.
In recent years, frequent high-level exchanges have deepened their strategic partnership. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao and top political advisor Jia Qinglin respectively paid their visits to South Africa in 2007, 2006 and 2011.
During the last 10 years, the two countries have obtained remarkable achievements in cooperation in economy and trade. In 2009, bilateral trade volume between the two countries stood at $16.1 billion.
In 2009, the two countries also signed more than 50 cooperation agreements, covering nuclear energy, science and technology, health, culture, tourism and other fields.
Wu said that China will cement its cooperation with South Africa based on equality, mutual benefit and common development, which will also help boost regional and world peace and development.
South Africa is the third leg of Wu’s Africa-Asia tour which has already taken him to Namibia and Angola. – BuaNews-Xinhua
