South Africa and China this week entered into several strategic agreements to strengthen bilateral relations, trade cooperation and create sustainable mutual investment opportunities.

The two countries signed a five- to ten-year Strategic Programme on Cooperation focusing on several avenues of bilateral cooperation, including political mutual trust and strategic coordination, mutual beneficial economic cooperation and trade and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

The strategic programme would also extend the collaboration to African affairs and China–Africa relations, as well as international affairs and issues relating to the economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The agreements aligned with President Jacob Zuma’s State visit to China this week during which official talks with China’s President Xi Jinping were held.

“We will also look at ways of enhancing cooperation in various sectors such as finance, the environment – including cooperation on the Ocean economy – and trade and investment, as well as transport and agriculture,” Zuma said.

Improved cooperation in the financial sector, in particular, would allow easier access to each country’s financial markets, he noted.

Further, to redress structural imbalances in China–South Africa bilateral trade, agreed minutes were signed to synergise bilateral cooperation in trade and investment between South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry and China’s Ministry of Commerce.

An Action Plan on Agriculture Cooperation between the two nations from 2014 to 2016 was also agreed during the State visit.

The agriculture-related agreements would see agricultural capacity building through the exchange and sharing of delegations, technology and personnel.

Further, the hosting of technology and management workshops and strengthening cooperation between the two countries’ research institutes, universities and colleges were promoted through the agreements.

China and South Africa also agreed on the protocols of phytosanitory requirements for the export of maize and apple fruit from South Africa to China, as well as the protocols of phytosanitory requirements for the export of dates from China to South Africa.