SA and China to strengthen relations, fight Covid and boost trade

National Assembly (NA) Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, will lead a high-level delegation of Parliament during a virtual meeting with a Chinese delegation today.

SA China delegation

Meeting with NPC of China

The delegation will discuss matters of mutual interest, including fighting Covid-19 and strengthening trade and economic relations. 

The Chinese delegation is expected to be led by the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, Li Zhanshu.

The meeting is part of strengthening relations as outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed in 2006 between South Africa’s NA and China’s NPC.

The agenda

One of the terms of the MOU is a regular exchange mechanism meeting, which includes:

• The exchange of views on bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual concern;

• The promotion and facilitation of exchange visits, tours and seminars, as well as all requisite support to make the engagements worthwhile;

• The exchange of information and publications on a range of developmental areas, including the strengthening of democracy, legal systems and communication, and sharing best practices; and

• Tracking progress in implementing the existing agreements between the two governments.

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Strengthening Parliament-to-Parliament relations

In a statement on Thursday, Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, said the meeting presented an opportunity for the exchange of best practice on parliamentary governance engagements at two levels.

“The Speaker and the Chairman, the Deputy Speaker and Vice-Chairman will co-chair a session of the portfolio and standing committees of both sides.”

“The session is expected to discuss strengthening Parliament-to-Parliament relations between the two legislatures, and practical cooperation between the standing committees and portfolio committees of both legislatures,” Mothapo said.