CRI听力:South Africa Signs Deals Worth $6.5 bln on Xi's Visit

Twenty-six bilateral agreements were signed on Wednesday. As part of the deals, China will lend 500 million U.S. dollars to Eskom, South Africa's national power supplier, to help its operations.

South African President Jacob Zuma hailed relations between the two sides.

"The volume of agreements indicates the amount of work that has been done in the past few months. We agreed that more could and should be done to increase our trade and investment figures".

Under the agreements, China will also help to build a car manufacturing plant in South Africa. It should begin exporting vehicles to other African countries by the end of 2017.

Chinese President Xi Jinping calls on the two countries to be forward-looking strategic partners.

The two sides have agreed to lift bilateral ties to a new height by fully implementing the 5-10 Years Strategic Plan on Cooperation, boosting cooperation in six areas including in special economic zones, the maritime economy, industrial capacity, energy, infrastructure, and human resources development.

President Xi also notes that China will facilitate South Africa's efforts to lead China-Africa cooperation on production capability across Africa and promote the continent's industrialization. China will also encourage more financing for South Africa, and support the early launch of the establishment of an African regional center for the New Development Bank for BRICS countries.

This is Xi Jinping's second visit to the country; the first was in 2013 when he toured several African states.

After his stay in Pretoria, the President will leave for Johannesburg to co-chair the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The summit is expected to be an historic event that will help strengthen China-Africa solidarity and development.

The two-day Johannesburg Summit, starting on Friday, is expected to adopt a declaration and action plan outlining measures that are aimed at consolidating China-Africa relations.

For CRI, this is Min Rui