In a meeting where South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma met with the Chinese new Ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, the ambassador pledged China’s full support to South Africa in fighting crimes in the country.
The two officials met on Thursday in Pretoria, during Lin Songtian’s first official day as ambassador to the country.
“Peace and security is the fundamental precondition for national development and investment cooperation,” said Beijing’s ambassador to South Africa.
“We stand ready to support South Africa to enhance the capacity of law enforcement authorities, build smart cities and develop a safe South Africa.” The ambassador pledged, quoted by the local news in South Africa.
According to Lin Songtian, many Chinese investors and tourists fled South Africa due to the increased crime rate, yet, South Africa would have earned a lot from them just like other countries did.
He explained that last year, only 110,000 Chinese tourists visited South Africa, which he termed as a very tiny fraction compared to the 220 million Chinese tourists that toured the world.
However, he blamed it all on the high rate of insecurity in South Africa at large, compared to China.
“If you can’t convince people safety here, tourists and investors won’t come,” he said, contrasting South Africa with China where he said, “even young beautiful girls feel free to go around the streets at any time.”
Lin Songtian, the ambassador, also listed down ten most prioritized areas of increased cooperation between South Africa and China.
The areas included agricultural modernization where he said that his government would encourage more Chinese investors to conduct large scale-cultivation, animal husbandry, grain storage and processing in South Africa.
“And we will provide a huge market for South Africa’s agricultural exports,” he promised, as quoted by journalists.
The ambassador also noted that by the end of this month, South Africa would become the first African country to export beef to China.
Reporter: Namuddu Shamila
