Chinese, South African presidents meet on cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping met his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma here on Tuesday to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The two leaders were also expected to discuss African regional issues and the fifth summit of BRICS to be hosted later today by South Africa in its port city of Durban. BRICS is an emerging-economy group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Following their talks, Xi and Zuma were to witness the signing of agreements on trade, economic cooperation and education, Chinese officials said. Xi arrived in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, on Monday for a state visit aimed at promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership established between the two countries in 2010. Since China and South Africa formed diplomatic relations 15 years ago, bilateral ties have been on a fast-track development, with cooperation booming in the fields of trade, education, tourism and technology. Bilateral trade reached 59.9 billion U.S. dollars last year, accounting for nearly one-third of the total trade flow between China and Africa as a whole. From Pretoria, Xi will travel to Durban for the BRICS summit, the first to be held on the African continent. Under the theme of "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialization," the summit will be joined by African leaders for promotion of regional development and integration. The five BRICS countries account for 42 percent of the world's population, 20 percent of its gross domestic product and 15 percent of global trade.