CAPE TOWN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with South Africa's National Assembly Speaker Angela Thokozile Didiza in Cape Town on Friday to discuss bilateral relations.
Han conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, to Didiza.
He said the profound friendship and cooperative relations between China and South Africa stem from the two countries' shared commitment to national liberation and their mutual support for development.
Reflecting on recent years, Han noted that, under the personal attention and guidance of the two heads of state, China-South Africa relations have maintained strong momentum.
He emphasized China's commitment to further developing the relationship and its readiness to work with South Africa to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, thereby promoting the continuous growth of their all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.
Highlighting the role of legislative bodies as important drivers of bilateral relations, Han said China is willing to further enhance exchanges with South Africa's legislative body.
Mutual support forms the foundation of China-South Africa relations, the Chinese vice president noted, expressing hope that South Africa will consistently uphold the correct position on issues involving China's core interests and major concerns.
Han also stressed that mutual benefit and win-win outcomes remain hallmarks of the partnership.
Recalling Chinese President Xi Jinping's announcement that China will fully implement zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries starting May 1 this year, he said China is ready to work with South Africa to finalize early harvest arrangements under the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development, so as to ensure that South Africa benefits from these measures on a long-term and stable basis.
On people-to-people exchanges, Han emphasized their importance as the cornerstone of China-South Africa relations. He encouraged the South African Parliament to actively promote cooperation across various fields, strengthen mutual understanding between the peoples of both countries, and ensure that the friendship between China and South Africa is passed down from generation to generation.
Noting that this year marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, Han added that China is willing to share high-quality development opportunities with South Africa to achieve common development.
For her part, Didiza asked Han to convey her cordial greetings and best wishes to Zhao and expressed gratitude to China for valuable support in South Africa's pursuit of independence and national development.
She reaffirmed South Africa's adherence to the one-China principle and its willingness to further utilize the regular exchange mechanism between the legislative bodies of the two countries to deepen political trust, enhance exchanges at all levels, consolidate unity and friendship, promote cooperation in various fields, and strengthen the South Africa-China all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.
