S Africa to showcase products in China

South Africa will send 51 companies to showcase products in China during October 20 to 31, as part of agenda celebrating diplomatic ties between Pretoria and Beijing, a government official said on Monday.

South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies said that the southernmost African country would promote its top ten projects for investment and export products in Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing.

South Africa is celebrating 16 years of diplomatic tie with China this year, under the theme "The Year of South Africa in China".

"South Africa is therefore conducting a series of activities including cultural promotions, art shows, trade exhibitions and fairs, academic research and educational exchanges in China, with China undertaking a variety of introduction, promotion and exchange activities in South Africa," Davies said.

Davis said that the products to be showcased could drive the exports of South Africa to China.

According to the minister, South Africa's major exports to China have traditionally been mining products, iron and steel, heavy chemicals and nonferrous metals, in the region of 5 billion dollars a year, meanwhile South African imports from China are dominated by clothing, machinery, televisions, communication equipment, furniture and footwear.

Davis noted that South Africa and China entered into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership particularly to strengthen political and economic relations, and that South Africa want to improve the current trade structure between the two countries.

"The top 10 identified products and projects cut across different sectors of the economy providing considerable opportunities for South Africa to diversify its export base to China. The South African Expos in China is a strategic project serving as a conduit to accelerate development and industrialization objectives of the Beijing Declarations," he added.

The exhibition companies would be from the agro-processing, chemicals, plastics, steel, aluminum, automotive, electro- technical, manufactured products and capital equipment. Some would be from renewable energy, infrastructure, Information and Communication Technology, transport, mining and minerals beneficiation.