PRETORIA, March 18- President Jacob Zuma(Pic) of South Africa has joined global leaders in wishing Xi Jinping well as he takes over as China’s new President. Xi was announced as China’s new president on Thursday. He was appointed to the Communist Party’s top post of Secretary-General in November and now succeeds President Hu Jintao as head of State and also as Chairman of the Central military Commission (CMC).
“On behalf of the Government and the people of South Africa, His Excellency President Jacob Zuma has congratulated His Excellency Xi Jinping on his election to the position of President of the People’s Republic of China,” the Presidency said in a statement here Sunday.
It added that South Africa looked forward to consolidating its strong relations with China under the leadership of President Xi. China is South Africa’s biggest trading partner and a significant investor in the South African economy. In 2012, total two-way trade stood at 201 billion (about US$21.9 billion), according to the South African Revenue Service. The two countries are also members of the economic bloc BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which is to host its fifth summit in Durban next week.
The Presidency said both China and South Africa had agreed to work towards a more equitable trade balance so that both nations benefited from the trade. In this regard, a Joint Working Group on Trade Statistics under the Bi-National Commission (BNC) was established to address the trade imbalance.
The visit by China’s new President to South Africa, scheduled to coincide with the BRICS Summit, will be among the first he will be undertaking overseas since assuming office as head of State.
“South Africa views this visit as further manifestation of the ever closer relations between Africa and China”.
BERNAMA
