Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed to forge a partnership of equals with South Africa as he held talks with his counterpart Thabo Mbeki on the latest leg Tuesday of an eight-nation swing through Africa.
Hu was accorded a 21-gun salute and greeted by the entire South African cabinet as he arrived at the seat of government in Pretoria after flying in from neighbouring Namibia for what is his first visit as president to Beijing's major trading partner on the continent.
Ties between the two continental giants have advanced at breakneck speed after diplomatic relations were established in 1998, four years after the demise of apartheid.
But the balance remains heavily tipped in Beijing's favour, with South Africa exporting around 1.2 billion dollars worth of goods a year to China while the level of imports is worth 4.35 billion dollars.
In a statement issued to reporters as he entered his talks with Mbeki, Hu said China and South Africa had established a "strategic partnership based on equality and mutual benefit for common development." The president also said the two countries shared common goals of improving the lot of some of the world's poorest people.
"To strengthen and grow our bilateral ties, not only benefits our two peoples but also helps facilitate solidarity and co-operation among developing countries and promote peace and development of the world."
With South Africa having recently taken up a post on the UN Security Council, the two leaders' talks are expected to cover international issues such as the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. But the real emphasis of the visit is expected to be on trade and the two men are scheduled to sign a raft of trade agreements after their talks.
The Chinese leader is also due to announce a 2.6-million-dollar grant to support a homespun South African programme aimed at achieving more rapid and balanced economic growth.
South African foreign ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said the visit by Hu was "an indication of the strategic relationship of both countries on the political and economic level". "Apart from bilateral issues, the other things to be discussed include UN reforms, multilateralism and conflict resolution on the African continent," he told AFP.
Beijing and Pretoria have closely co-operated in pushing the agenda of developing nations in forums such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. Both favour a revamp of the UN and greater market access and tariff-free trade for developing countries striving for more concessions from wealthy nations.
Bilateral trade ties have been clouded by accusations that cheap Chinese textiles were flooding the South African market and driving local firms out of business but Beijing last year agreed to put a cap on exports for two years.
Analysts also expect China to tap South Africa as an ally on the UN Security Council after Pretoria became a non-permanent member in January.
"China .. wants our support on the UN Security Council during our two-year membership," Business Day's Jonathan Katzenellenbogen wrote Tuesday, highlighting South Africa's controversial recent decision to join China in opposing a US-led resolution urging democratic reform in Myanmar.
South Africa has stood by China in the face of criticism that Beijing is only interested in plundering Africa's mineral and oil wealth and is dumping cheap and shoddy goods here.
Mbeki has stated that China will not "replicate the historic colonial economic relationship in terms of which Africa served as a source of raw materials and a market for goods manufactured in the countries of the colonisers."
Hu started his swing through Africa in Cameroon, going on to Liberia, Sudan, Zambia and Namibia. From South Africa, he travels on to Mozambique and the Seychelles.
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