Top officials of the African National Congress (ANC), led by secretary general Fikile Mbalula, have had bilateral exchanges with a high-level delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The CPC is currently on a tri-nations tour.
The Chinese delegation is led by Li Xi, member of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said during the engagement, the political parties, who are close allies, compared notes on how to maintain high discipline, and fighting the scourge of corruption.
“The African National Congress held a high-level bilateral meeting with the Communist Party of China. Among the discussions that took place are measures to end poverty, and sharing ideas between our two countries and our two parties about the things that have to be prioritised in the ongoing fight against poverty,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
She said instilling and maintaining discipline among members of the political movements was also discussed.
“As the ANC, we are very much interested in the model that the Communist Party of China has, to ensure that there is a culture of discipline that is instilled among our members as well as our leaders – with our leaders setting the tone at the top.
“The conversation with the Communist Party of China continues through a number of areas of cooperation which both organisations currently enjoy,” she said.
Bhengu-Motsiri said the highlight of the engagement with the CPC delegation were discussions on fighting corruption.
“The highlight of this bilateral meeting were discussions about fighting corruption both within our parties as well as within our respective countries, sharing measures that the Communist Party of China has put in place over many years to fight corruption and looking at the work that the ANC and the ANC-led Government of National Unity is doing, to fight corruption,” she said.
“A useful bilateral and these discussions will continue into the future.”
The CPC delegation is on a mission to pay “official and friendly visits” to countries namely Italy, Kenya and South Africa at the invitation of the Italian Senate, the United Democratic Alliance of Kenya and the African National Congress in South Africa.
In September, IOL reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State Visit to China, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, had culminated in the two nations signing several bilateral trade and co-operation agreements.
The memoranda were signed by Cabinet ministers representing the both nations at an auspicious event held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September.
The Presidency said China is South Africa's largest trading partner globally, while South Africa is China’s number one trading partner in Africa. Total bilateral trade grew from R614 billion in 2022 to R692 billion in 2023.
In September, Ambassador of China to South Africa Wu Peng told delegates at the embassy in Pretoria that in the first half of this year, China imported US$17.3 billion of goods from South Africa, a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent.
IOL