Chinese President Xi Jinping and the South African Head of State, Cyril Ramaphosa signed on Tuesday a series of agreements aimed to bolster the bilateral relations of the two nations.
Fresh from his excursion in Rwanda, Xi Jinping arrived in South Africa in what is supposed to be another historical state visit of a Chinese premier in the continent. According to reports, Xi and his accompanying delegates were met with a welcoming ceremony from Ramaphosa, complete with a 21-gun salute, upon his entry to Union Buildings - the country's seat of government.
South Africa has been China's main trading partner within the African continent for a long time, and this relationship could get even warmer as Beijing entered a series of trade and economic deals with Johannesburg.
According to The South African, China has pledged to pour R196 billion, or roughly USD$14.7 billion-worth of financial investment in the country.
With this much capital inflow, Ramaphosa said that agriculture, finance, and infrastructure will be among the sectors of his government to benefit most of this grant.
Aside from the monetary aid, the SA-China meeting also resulted to a series of agreements that will take the traditional bilateral relationship shared between the two nations to a whole new level.
Travel restrictions are now loosened. This means constituents from either of the countries will get to enjoy a much easier passage to travel thanks to the reformed visa regulations.
A pact was also signed by China that could help Eskom get back on its feet. Eskom or Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) of South Africa has recently been plunged in a financial scuffle when a fiscal report revealed billions worth of losses.
China pledged to aid the national agency in reconstructing its system with a USD$2.5 billion loan.
Meanwhile, a report from Reuters confirmed that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has agreed to lend SA's Transnet a sum of USD$300 million loans, which could help the logistics company improve its services.
Beijing, meanwhile, is further cementing its strategic presence in Africa by way of the Belt and Road Initiative. The BRI or the Silk Road Economic Belt is China's flagship foreign policy initiated by the Xi Jinping administration. It seeks to improve and strengthen economic ties with countries in the Eurasian region, including Africa.
Xi Jinping and Ramaphosa will head to Pretoria, SA, this Wednesday for the BRICS summit - the meeting of five emerging economies to include Russia, India, and Brazil.
