Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau will host a high-level Chinese delegation for talks aimed at deepening economic cooperation between South Africa and China, including the signing of key regulatory agreements.
Image: GCIS
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau will host China's Vice Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), Shu Wei, and a high-level delegation next week, for discussions aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Alexandra Abrahams is also expected to attend the meeting.
The engagement is expected to culminate in the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding between China's market regulation authority and agencies of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), including the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS).
The agreements form part of ongoing efforts to enhance regulatory cooperation and support broader trade and investment relations between South Africa and China.
The meeting builds on the Framework Agreement on the Economic Partnership for Shared Development (CADEPA), which was signed in Beijing earlier this year by Minister Tau and China's Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao.
The agreement paved the way for negotiations on an Early Harvest Agreement between the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and China, aimed at establishing a reciprocal trade arrangement.
In a further boost to trade relations, China implemented a unilateral zero-tariff treatment arrangement on May 1 for 20 non-least developed African countries, including South Africa.
The upcoming talks are expected to reinforce economic cooperation and support efforts to expand trade opportunities between the two nations.
IOL