/ 22 October 1999

SA-CHINA STATE VISITS

AN exchange of state visits between South Africa and China are being planned, Chinese Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Ji Pei Ding said in Pretoria on Thursday. No date has however been set for the visits. The two deputy ministers said there will be closer bilateral cooperation between their countries in the future, despite the fact that diplomatic relations between China and South Africa are only two years old. Pahad said their talks focused on setting up a cooperation commission between the two countries. He said two-way trade between China and South Africa, which has risen from $14-million two years ago to $1,3-billion at present, could increase further.