Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on his visit to China on September 2. (Source: Xinhua)

On September 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met in Beijing, ahead of the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Both countries assessed that Mr. Ramaphosa's visit to China was "of great significance" to the development of bilateral relations.

China and South Africa agreed to promote balanced trade and discuss increasing two-way investment between the two countries' industrial and commercial communities, according to a joint statement on September 3.

In the joint statement, China expressed its willingness to promote job creation, citing recruitment events for Chinese enterprises in South African localities.

In addition, the Declaration also mentioned adding production facilities near relevant raw material sources and promoting technology and skill transfer between businesses of the two countries.

Furthermore, China is willing to share more of its experience in poverty alleviation and rural development.

After the talks, the two countries signed a number of cooperation documents including the application of satellite positioning systems and the export of dairy products and raw wool from South Africa to China.

In recent times, both countries have sought to expand cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, energy storage, transmission and distribution.

According to the Joint Statement, the two countries will co-organize a new energy investment conference in the near future.

The two leaders also called on the international community to support African countries in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), a type of FTA that promises to create the world's largest free trade area - a single continental market for goods and services, helping Africa promote the integration process.