Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town on Sunday for an official visit to the Republic of South Africa.

Since China and South Africa forged diplomatic ties on Jan.1, 1998, the two countries have been steadily promoting the bilateral cooperation and exchanges.

In 2000, China and South Africa founded a bi-national commission. In 2004, the two countries established a strategic partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common development.

In recent years, frequent high-level exchanges have deepened their strategic partnership.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao respectively paid visits to South Africa in 2006 and 2007. During Wen’s visit, China and South Africa signed the “Program of Cooperation on Deepening the Strategic Partnership.”

Many South African leaders have also visited China. In 2006, the then South Africa President Thabo Mbeki attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In 2008, Jacob Zuma, the incumbent South Africa president, visited China as head of the African National Congress.

In 2008, China and South Africa carried out various activities to celebrate the 10th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and both vowed to further consolidate bilateral relations.

During the last 10 years, the two countries have obtained remarkable achievements in cooperation in economy and trade. In 2009, Bilateral trade volume between the two countries stood at 16.1 billion U.S. dollars.

In 2009, the two countries also signed more than 50 cooperation agreements, covering nuclear energy, science and technology, health, culture, tourism and other fields.
Editor: Deng Shasha