South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a phone talk on Tuesday with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who was in Johannesburg for the 13th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security.
During the talk, both extended good wishes for the BRICS Summit, pledged to strengthen cooperation to boost development, and expressed hope to push for greater progress in bilateral relations as well as China-Africa friendship.
The convening of the BRICS security meeting enabled preparations for the upcoming BRICS heads of state summit, which China hopes is a success, Wang said. Under Ramaphosa’s leadership, the summit will inject new impetus into and open up new prospects for BRICS cooperation, promote high-level exchanges between China and South Africa, and strengthen China-Africa cooperation, he added.
Highlighting the friendship between China and South Africa, Wang said that as the international situation changes, China will firmly stand with South Africa and support it in accelerating its development and revitalization as well as playing a greater role in the region and the world.
Ramaphosa said his country attaches great importance to relations with China and he hopes the two countries can strengthen cooperation in various fields. He thanked China’s support for South Africa in holding the BRICS Summit, and said South Africa hopes to take the summit as an opportunity to push for greater progress in South Africa-China relations and Africa-China relations.
During Wang’s stay in Johannesburg, he also met with Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, coordinator for the 13th BRICS security meeting and minister in the Presidency of South Africa.
Wang said that the BRICS mechanism is the most important cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries, adding China is willing to work with South Africa and other BRICS countries to make the BRICS mechanism stronger, promote multilateralism, advance democracy in international relations, safeguard international basic norms and the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and promote regional and world peace and stability.
Ntshavheni applauded China’s commitment to deepening BRICS cooperation and thanked China’s contribution to the 13th BRICS security meeting. She expressed hope that BRICS countries can coordinate closely to open up new prospects for BRICS cooperation.
The two sides also touched on trade and economic issues, with Wang pledging to strengthen cooperation with South Africa in the fields of poverty alleviation and investment.
Ntshavheni said South Africa firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to keep close high-level exchanges with China, strengthen cooperation in economy, trade, investment, mineral processing and other fields, and push South Africa-China relations to a new level.
