Huge prospects for more foreign investments are imminent as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality hosted a high powered delegation from the Chinese province of Zhejiang. The delegation was led by Province’s Vice Governor Dr Lu Shan.
The visit focused on the Eastern Cape two economic hubs, Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City.
The hosting Eastern Cape Cape delegation was led by the Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
The Premier was accompanied by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor Garry van Niekerk and the MEC for Economic Development Mlungisi Mvoko.
Vice Governor Ganghui was accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province and Ms Fu Xiaowen who is the Deputy Director for Asian and African Affairs Division of the Foreign Affairs Office, Zhejiang Province.
The working visit started with the Executive Mayor Van Niekerk taking the delegation on a tour to the Metro’s economic nodes and tourists attractions like Coega Special Economic Zone and historic tourism sites.
The tour was followed by discussion led by Premier and the Vice-governor which focused on investment opportunities, areas of skills collaboration and cultural exchange.
Speaking during the session Premier Mabuyane said he was pleased that the Province of Zhejiang has identified Eastern Cape as a strategic economic partner since year 2000. The two provinces have a formal twinning agreement created based on areas of trade and economic cooperation, science and technology, health, education and people to people exchanges.
The Premier started the session by thanking the Chinese province for assisting South Africa and the EC in particular during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would like to acknowledge the role played by Zhejiang Province in helping our Province of the Eastern Cape to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor of Zhejiang Province personally urged Chinese companies, including those which have invested in South Africa to donate generously to the efforts of the EC in the fight against coronavirus.
As a result, we received a consignment that included:
- N95 masks and medical masks. Face shields
- Medical coverall suits and
- Temperature screening devices
This consignment of goods assisted us in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and that is something we are eternally grateful for, to our sister Province of Zhejiang”. The Premier said it was largely due to the twinning agreement that the EC province hosts two Chinese auto manufacturing companies BAIC and FAW that are set to contribute immensely to our economy in the future.
“As our country and the African continent transition into Electric Vehicles, we are determined to attract Chinese companies that are global leaders in EV production such as BYD Auto. Our two industrial development zones, Coega and East London IDZ which are strategically located near two ports are ready to host such investments,” said Premier Mabuyane.
He said it was time that the relationship must go a step further.
“We are also eager to see our bilateral relations opening markets for exports and imports in our respective provinces. Our province is a leading producer of citrus, wool, and meat products in South Africa. As a result in the past five years, we have seen tremendous activity in the exports of our agricultural produce to Europe and the Middle East. We would like to expand into the Chinese market as well,” the Premier added.
The Vice Governor Dr Lu Shan said the relationship with the Eastern Cape was very special to the their Province and country. We are a Province of 65 million people. We pride ourselves in areas of education, science, innovation, farming innovation and a number of areas that we think we can collaborate on. Our Province is the leader in Chinese modernisation. Our Province is also the largest trading in Africa with 7.5 billion dollars worth of trade in the past year alone.
“As we work to strengthen these relations we need to be results driven in our approach. We would like to see an increasing cooperation on areas of energy, farming, digital technology and student exchange and skills training,” said Vice Governor Shan.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor Garry van Niekerk said the visit comes at a time when the Metro was on an aggressive investment promotion. “We continue to make inroads to rebuild our economy. Progress that we see is encouraging. Working with the Province, we want to leverage as much as we can from these relations to make sure that it yields more investments and cooperation,” said Executive Mayor van Niekerk. The Metro is a home to two major Chinese car manufacturing plants, BAIC and FAW based at the Coega SEZ.
NMB Communications
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