State Councilor Yang Jiechi: South Africa is known as the “Rainbow Nation”. Every time I visit South Africa, I am deeply impressed with its breathtaking scenery, diverse cultures of unique charm, and the warm hospitality of the South African people. More importantly, I am always heartened to see new changes in South Africa. In recent years, under the leadership of President Zuma, the South African government has pursued a policy of national reconciliation, committed itself to growing the economy and improving people's livelihood and enhanced its international standing and regional influence. I sincerely wish the South African people greater strides in the path of national development.

My visit this time is for the main purpose of comparing notes with the South African side with regard to the preparations for the FOCAC summit in Johannesburg this December and having an in-depth discussion on the arrangements and deliverables of President Xi Jinping's visit to South Africa. We wish to work together with South Africa to translate the important agreement reached by our two presidents into concrete actions and specific programs and make the summit and the visit a complete success.

Karima Brown: This year marks the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). How do you evaluate the past 15 years' development of FOCAC? As we all know, the upcoming summit is the first FOCAC summit held on African soil. What is the significance of this summit for China-Africa cooperation, and what outcomes can we expect from the summit?

State Councilor Yang Jiechi: Since the inception of FOCAC 15 years ago, China and Africa have had fruitful cooperation across the board. Political mutual trust has grown significantly. The two sides understand and support each other on matters involving each other's core interests and major concerns, thus upholding the common interests of China, Africa and the developing world. Our practical cooperation has progressed in leaps and bounds, delivering tangible benefits to both the Chinese and African people. Statistics show that in 2014, trade between China and Africa exceeded US$220 billion and China's investment stock in Africa surpassed US$30 billion, an increase of 22 and 60 times respectively over the figures in 2000 when FOCAC was just established. Moreover, the share of China-Africa trade in Africa's total foreign trade has increased from 3.82% to 20.5%.

What is particularly noteworthy is China's commitment to helping Africa break the two development bottlenecks of underdeveloped infrastructure and lack of human resources. The efforts have already made a big difference. By June 2015, over 3,800 kilometers of railways and 4,334 kilometers of roads have been either built or under construction in Africa with Chinese financing. More than 200 schools of various kinds have been established with Chinese assistance or financing. The Chinese government provides Africa with more than 7,000 government scholarships each semester and holds over 100 multilateral and bilateral technical and management training programs and senior officials workshops for Africa each year.

FOCAC has proven to be an important platform for collective dialogue between China and African countries and an effective mechanism for enhanced practical cooperation. As such, FOCAC is very much welcomed by all parties and has indeed become a banner for promoting China-Africa unity and cooperation and leading international cooperation on Africa.

As far as the African countries are concerned, they have the common desire to accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization in a bid to realize economic independence and self-reliant, sustainable development. After more than 30 years of reform, opening up and rapid development, China has developed a large number of competitive industries and accumulated strong production capacities. This puts us in a better position to work with other countries to achieve win-win development based on complementarity of strengths. In other words, given their respective strengths, China and Africa are each other's opportunity and need each other for cooperation and development. Convened against such a background, the FOCAC Summit, the first of its kind to be held on the African continent, will have great and far-reaching significance for boosting comprehensive transformation and upgrading of China-Africa relations and promoting more balanced, inclusive and sustainable development of the world.

In his first visit to Africa in 2013, President Xi Jinping put forth the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith to guide our relations with Africa, and called for taking a right approach to justice and interests. The fundamental purpose is to closely combine efforts to help Africa achieve economic independence, self-reliance and sustainable development with China's own development, and achieve win-win cooperation and common development. China and Africa will seize this rare historical opportunity of the summit, fully leverage their advantages of political mutual trust and economic complementarity and step up mutually beneficial cooperation in the five priority areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, health, people-to-people exchanges and peace and security. We believe that this summit, through its new plans, new blueprint and new momentum for China-Africa cooperation, will send to the rest of the world a strong message of China and Africa working together for win-win cooperation and common development and usher in a new prospect of development to people in China, Africa and beyond.

China, in the spirit of equal-footed consultation and joint preparation for the summit, stands ready to work with South Africa and the other 50 FOCAC members on the African side to make the summit in Johannesburg a historic gathering that will strengthen China-Africa unity and lead China-Africa cooperation to the future, thus writing a new chapter for China-Africa relations.

Karima Brown: How do you see today's China-South Africa ties, and what are the opportunities and challenges? What outcomes can we expect from President Xi's visit to further the China-South Africa relations?

State Councilor Yang Jiechi: With the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership and the signing of the China-South Africa 5-10 Year Framework on Cooperation, the relationship between China and South Africa is at its best in history. The two countries enjoy close high-level exchanges. This year alone, the two presidents will have five meetings. We have reached an unprecedented level in political mutual trust and given each other understanding and support on issues relating to each other's core interests and major concerns. Practical cooperation is booming, delivering more real benefits to people of both countries. In 2014, bilateral trade reached US$60.3 billion, an increase of 40 folds over that of 1998 when the diplomatic ties were established. The stock of Chinese investment in South Africa has reached US$12 billion, making China one of the major investors in South Africa. At the same time, South Africa is the leading African investor in China.

I have every confidence in the future growth of China-South Africa relations. Richly endowed in natural and human resources and committed to its strategy of reindustrialization, South Africa enjoys huge market size and development potential. As for China, thanks to its rapid economic growth for more than three decades, it boasts comparative advantages in capital, technology, business and personnel. China and South Africa are each other's necessary and natural partners of development and have before them a rare, historic opportunity for cooperation.

President Xi Jinping will attend the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg and visit South Africa. This will surely give a strong boost to the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. The two sides need to seize this important opportunity to fully leverage their advantages in political mutual trust and economic complementarity, deepen cooperation in such key areas as special economic zone, marine economy, manufacturing industry, energy and resources, infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges, and promote win-win cooperation for common development, thus bringing more tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Of course, the two sides also face numerous challenges in implementing, in a more effective manner, the important agreement reached by the leaders of our two countries. We hope that the two sides will create for each other better business and investment environment, find opportunities amid challenges and turn enormous cooperation potential into fruitful results on the ground.