South Africa and China this month celebrate 20 years of formal diplomatic relations.

The countries have signed a significant number of bilateral cooperation agreements in areas including trade, investment, economic and people-to-people relations over that period. 
 
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said in a statement on Monday that, over the previous two decades, the countries have assumed increased strategic significance, starting with a partnership in 2000, to a strategic partnership in 2004 and ultimately to a comprehensive strategic partnership since the signing of the Beijing Declaration in 2010.
 
“South Africa and China strengthened their friendship in 2017 through the inaugural South Africa-China high-level people-to-people exchange mechanism, which took place in Pretoria, in April 2017.

“South Africa [also] advanced the China-Africa partnership by continuing to co-chair the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and working towards the implementation of the outcomes of the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit,” Dirco said.