The Ministerial Dialogue between the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), China and Department of the Public Enterprises (DPE) of South Africa is held in Beijing on May 9. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Ministerial Dialogue between the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), China and Department of the Public Enterprises (DPE) of South Africa was held in Beijing on May 9. The two sides had in-depth discussions on deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), promoting scientific and technological innovation and strengthening the supervision of state-owned assets in the context of a market-oriented economy.
Zhang Yuzhuo, Chairman of SASAC, and Pravin Gordhan, Minister of DPE, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. The meeting was moderated by Zhao Shitang, Vice Chairman of SASAC, and was attended by Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, South Africa's Ambassador to China.
Zhang said that the important consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on strengthening exchanges of governance experience and deepening cooperation in such fields as investment and energy guided the way forward for the development of bilateral relations, and provided important strategic guidance in deepening cooperation between SOEs of the two countries. As state-owned assets supervision and administration authorities, the two sides have maintained close communication in recent years, and achieved fruitful results in deepening exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' SOEs. With focus on the real economy, scientific and technological innovation, deepening reform and open cooperation, SASAC will promote high-quality development and continue to support Chinese central SOEs to strengthen their practical cooperation with their South African counterparts in the fields of transportation, energy and infrastructure in accordance with market-oriented and law-based principles, so as to better benefit the people of both countries.
Zhang said that he hopes the two sides will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and have in-depth discussions on issues related to state-owned assets supervision and SOE governance to reach further consensus. He also expressed his expectation that the two sides will adhere to openness and inclusiveness and strengthen cooperation on multilateral platforms, such as the BRICS cooperation mechanism, in a bid to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
Gordhan spoke highly of the achievements China has made in its SOE reform and innovative development. He said that the two countries shared a long history of friendly exchanges and cooperation, and cooperation between their SOEs has achieved a series of important outcomes, bringing concrete benefits to the people of both countries. Noting that SOEs in China and South Africa share similar functional orientation as well as reform and development goals, Gordhan said the DPE is willing to learn from China's experience and practices in the reform and innovative development of SOEs to continuously promote SOE reform in South Africa, so as to improve operational efficiency and enhance functions of its own SOEs.
Gordhan said he expects both sides will follow the new trend of global economic development, further deepen exchanges and cooperation among SOEs in line with the mutually beneficial and win-win principle, and continuously expand cooperation in fields such as energy security, transportation and logistics, and infrastructure to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, and enable South African SOEs to play a bigger role in promoting the country's economic growth.
Heads of SOEs from both countries, including State Grid Corporation of China, the State Power Investment Corporation Limited, China Energy Investment Corporation, China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited, CRRC Corporation Limited, China Communications Construction Company Ltd, ESKOM and Transnet, participated in the meeting and shared their insights.
(Executive editor: Hao Wen)
