S.Africa assures China of political continuity
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
on Friday assured her Chinese counterpart that general elections were
unlikely to change her country's political scene.
"New parties have emerged but still we think at the end of elections
nothing will change much," Dlamini told Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi speaking of the general elections expected in the second quarter
of the year.
The two ministers met outside Cape Town to strengthen ties between
their two countries in their fourth encoounter in the past 12 months.
Talks between the two nations were to focus on economics and changing
global dynamics.
"Both China and South Africa are important developing countries when
the international situation is undergoing profound changes and new
problems and new challenges keep emerging," said Yang.
He said it was important the two nations meet regularly to deepen the
partnership between them.
Yang said the two countries had built up political trust in recent
years and thanked South Africa for its cooperation on tricky
international issues. "Our countries conducted close coordination and
cooperation in the UN Security Council as regards major international
and regional issues and hotspot issues," Yang said before the start of
the closed-door meeting.
South Africa has often joined China in blocking the discussion and
resolutions around sensitive international issues such as the Zimbabwe
crisis and the situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "South Africa
gave China valuable support on issues that concern China's core
interests including Taiwan and Tibet-related issues."
The two countries also planned further cooperation in dealing with
the international financial crisis.
Yang is on the last leg of a four-nation African trip which also took
him to Uganda, Rwanda and Malawi.
His visit aims to strengthen relations with African countries, as
China seeks to further extend its influence on the resource-rich
continent in a relationship that has often drawn criticism from the
West.
Kleinmond, Sunday, AFP |