South African Ministers are in China to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) of Champions, where they will share ideas around science, technology and innovation, and look into global issues of unemployment.

Communications Minister Faith Muthambi on Wednesday arrived at the first day of the eighth annual meeting held in Tianjin, China.

The three-day "Summer Davos" Forum started yesterday and is being held under the theme ‘Creating Value through Innovation’.

During the forum, Minister Muthambi will meet with the Information Minister of the People’s Republic of China, where she hopes to share and learn how other countries are best implementing science, technology and innovation.

“The forum will further strengthen the bilateral relations that South Africa has with China,” said Muthambi.

Others attending the forum are the Ministers of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande.

Minister Motsoaledi arrived earlier in China to deliver a lecture on 8 September at the University of Hong Kong, where he outlined strategies implemented to curb the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa, as it affects South Africa.

He also demonstrated in detail the role South Africa is playing in the fight against the disease, and outlined the prevention preparedness of the country and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

On the other hand, Nzimande will lead discussions for a working session on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skilling today.

The theme focuses on the fastest growing emerging economies in Asia and Africa, which are challenged to produce adequate STEM skilled workers to support the growing technology driven industries.

According to the Communications Department, Africa has the lowest Research Personnel at only 70 researchers per million people, while Asia has 340 researchers per million people compared to North America's 2 640 and Europe's 1 990.

The session will also look at innovative approaches required to scale up globally competitive education systems.

Minister Nzimande will also participate in the session to address unemployment and the future of jobs.

“Currently, more than 200-million people are unemployed around the world, and this number is expected to rise in the coming years,” the department said.

The department said focus will also be on employers around the globe, who experience difficulties in finding talent, resulting in many positions remaining vacant.

The World Economic Forum was established in 2007 as the foremost global gathering on science, technology and innovation.

The annual meeting of the champions convenes the next generation of fast-growing enterprises shaping the future of business and society, together with leaders from major multinationals as well as government, media, academia and civil society.