The South Africa-China Economy and Trade Association (Saceta) will hold a Job Fair at the Gallagher Conference Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Thursday.
Saceta said it expected about 100 Chinese enterprises to offer 1 000 jobs to local applicants as they gear up to expand their South African workforce by a further 20 000 in the next three years.
Chinese Ambassador Chen Xiaodong, together with senior officials from relevant South African government departments and representatives from Chinese-invested enterprises in South Africa, will be at the event.
The China-South Africa comprehensive strategic co-operation has grown steadily in recent years. The bilateral economic and commercial co-operation is now moving into the "fast lane" under the personal leadership of China President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa as they meet annually at the BRICS Summit, while being in regular telephone contact at other times during the year.
This as for the 13th consecutive year, China has been South Africa's largest commercial partner. The bilateral trade value between China and South Africa reached $54.35 billion (R796bn) in 2021, a massive 50.7 percent increase on the pandemic-affected 2020 trade data, while South Africa's exports to China soared by 59.6 percent to $33.23bn.
China-South Africa bilateral trade value accounts for more than one-fifth of the overall trade value between China and Africa.
China has emerged as a significant export market for South African agricultural products such as beef, citrus, grapes, wine and wool, among others. These markets have become even more important due to the disruption of South African exports to Russia, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
China is also a significant investor in South Africa, creating jobs. At the end of 2021, China’s investment in South Africa exceeded $25bn in cumulative terms.
To date, more than 200 Chinese enterprises have invested in South Africa in areas such as energy, finance, mining, home appliances, communications, automobiles, construction machinery, real estate, textile and clothing and logistics, creating more than 400 000 jobs for South Africans and making positive contributions to the economic and social development of South Africa.
At the Fourth South African Investment Conference, held on March 24 in Johannesburg, 12 Chinese enterprises in South Africa were there in person and more than 80 Chinese enterprises participated online.
At the time, Xi said China stood ready to work with South Africa to move ties between the two countries forward toward a deeper level, with higher quality and broader scope. The two sides should step up efforts to implement the “Nine Programmes” of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation and the 10-year strategic plan on co-operation between China and South Africa, and strive for new achievements in bilateral co-operation in various areas.
African countries have benefited from China’s growth over the past two decades. China has grown its national economy from the sixth in the world to second largest, with some economists predicting that it could be the largest by 2030.
In terms of trade in goods it has grown from sixth to first, and in terms of trade in services, it has moved from 11th to second. Its outbound direct investment has risen from 26th to first.
BUSINESS REPORT