Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma stuck to his guns in Beijing on Friday, saying South Africa would achieve 5 percent economic growth by 2019.
Zuma told about 1 000 business leaders from South Africa and China, on the sidelines of his state visit that the target was realistic.
He set this target in his State of the Nation address in June.
The president was on a charm offensive at the South Africa-China Business Forum, trying to woo Chinese businessmen and women into investing in South Africa.
He struck a good note with the audience at the Summit Hotel in Beijing, where he told the business forum that the country would not waiver from its commitment to boosting the growth rate to 5 percent in the next five years.
There was more than R270 billion in trade between China and South Africa last year. “As we work towards an ambitious target of 5 percent growth by 2019 in South Africa, we believe we have laid a sound economic foundation, which makes our country ready to advance an economic partnership with China in the pursuit of inclusive growth and job creation,” Zuma told the gathering.
His call was echoed repeatedly at the forum, where business leaders from the two countries pledged to use the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) alliance as the launch pad for greater trade and investment.
Ma Zehua, the chairman of the Brics Business Council chapter in China, said the five working groups that had been established would consolidate work in infrastructure investment, rail, manufacturing and technology. He said the partnership with South Africa was developing at a fast pace and this boded well for future co-operation.
Ma hoped through this partnership trade barriers could be reduced.
China had agreed to come to the party by sharing its technology for South Africa’s multitrillion-rand infrastructure programme, he said.
South Africa has earmarked R4 trillion for infrastructure over the next 15 years. The government has spent more than R1 trillion on infrastructure in the past five years.
Ma said it was hoped the Brics countries’ planned New Development Bank would soon be up and running.
Patrice Motsepe, who chairs the Brics Business Council chapter in South Africa, told the forum China was South Africa’s strategic business partner. “There is a huge sense of urgency in South Africa for trade and challenges, in terms of jobs,” he said.
“The potential of what we can achieve between the two countries is very exciting.”
Monthly meetings had been held in the Brics countries in the past 18 months to look at key areas for development, investment and growth.
“At the heart of this partnership is trust,” Motsepe said.
“There is a huge commitment by China to invest in South Africa.”
Trade between South Africa and China had increased 32 percent in the past eight years, from R125bn, Motsepe said.
Huang Shu, vice-minister of the state assets supervisory and administration commission, (the equivalent of the Department of Public Enterprises in South Africa), said they would work with South African state-owned entities in a number of key areas.
He said he believed there would be a strong partnership between China’s state-owned entities and South Africa’s.
A number of memorandums of understanding have been signed by the two countries with the aim of building stronger state-owned entities.
Zuma described his visit to China as successful.
“The relationship between the two countries was cause for more good things to come.”
It was Zuma’s second state visit to China since assuming office five years ago.
His first visit was in 2010, during his first term.
Sunday Independent