Premier Li Keqiang met with Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Sept 2, ahead of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

According to Premier Li, relations between China and South Africa have seen comprehensive and profound development over 20 years, since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

President Xi Jinping visited South Africa in July, injecting new impetus into China-South Africa relations and China-Africa relations, the Premier said.

Premier Li added that China is willing to cooperate with South Africa in industry, equipment manufacturing, investment, and marine economy, and encourages more Chinese enterprises to carry out localized cooperation in South Africa.

China would also like to expand cooperation on economic parks and industrial parks, as well as the scale of bilateral trade, the Premier said.

Premier Li also said that China is willing to strengthen cooperation among BRICS countries, jointly safeguarding multilateralism, free trade, and the advancement of developing countries.

Ramaphosa said South Africa and China have traditionally had friendly relations, and bilateral ties have gotten stronger.

The relationship between the two countries is strategic, which is reflected in increasing cooperation in various fields and continuous advancement of exchanges at all levels, he added.

South Africa is willing to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with China in various fields, improving the construction of multilateral mechanisms, expanding South-South cooperation, and maintaining multilateralism with the United Nations and the World Trade Organization as the core, Ramaphosa said.