South Africa keen to boost ties with China: deputy minister
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E-mail Xinhua, March 25, 2013
South Africa is keen to further strengthen its all-round relations with China and would take advantage of new Chinese president's visit to the country, a South African deputy minister has said.
As one of the African countries on the itinerary of Chinese President Xi Jinping's inaugural foreign trip, South Africa would seize the opportunity to discuss ways of enhancing the all-round relations with China, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Obed Bapela told Xinhua.
Xi is scheduled to travel to South Africa from Tanzania and attend the fifth BRICS summit in the city of Durban on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bapela said South Africa sought to bolster its trade relations with China by making some changes to the balance of trade.
South Africa also intended to attract more Chinese tourists as tourism was one of the growth paths of his country, he said.
As for the BRICS summit, the minister said that it has aroused excitement in South Africa and across the continent of Africa as it is the first to be held on Africa's soil.
The summit will focus on the development of BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and its impact on Africa's development, he said.
In Durban, leaders of the BRICS countries will also have a retreat with African leaders. Endi
