China and South Africa are now gearing up for Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) slated to happen in Beijing this September. The event, co-chaired by the two countries, was also upgraded to a Summit "in order to respond to the strong needs by the South African side and the practical needs for the development between China and African countries."  

After the annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), presidents of Cameroon, Namibia and Zimbabwe visited China one after another. It is also worthy to notice that Yang Jiechi, special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited South Africa on March 23 with triple missions, expected to exert a positive influence on China's ties with South Africa and the wider African continent in the new era. 

Yang's first mission is to confirm the time for this year's FOCAC, a set of ministerial conferences held every three years, with the first one held in October, 2000 in Beijing and the latest in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As a senior diplomat, Yang has a deep insight into Chinese policy toward African countries. His visit to Cape Town to meet Cyril Ramaphosa, the newly elected president of South Africa, shows that China not only attaches great importance to the role of South Africa in Africa, but also hopes to extend the stable cooperation of the two countries in the continent.

FOCAC, along with BRICS, are events to further build the bilateral ties of the two countries. South Africa would hold the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in July, aiming for new achievements in the cooperation frameworks. 

Yang also prepared for the meeting of the two presidents. Xi Jinping will visit South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit, after his last trip to the country three years ago. Against the background of integrated free trade in Africa, BRICS countries are expected to endorse free trade based on common interests. 

The third mission is to further promote the bilateral relations between China and South Africa. For a long time, many people mistook China-South Africa relations with China-Africa relations. Though South Africa plays the leading role among African economies, it cannot represent the whole Africa. And there is a voice in South Africa calling to upgrade the China-South Africa ties in an all-around way, making it a win-win cooperation. 

An important historic background for these events is that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. Besides the cooperation in industrialization and infrastructure upgrading, high-quality agricultural products, internationalized finance and media industries can also meet the needs of a country that is undergoing a new round of economic structure reform. China cooperates with South Africa on the basis of equity rather than only one side getting all the benefits. This will set a paragon for other countries when it comes to cooperating with China. 

Half a month ago, a picture album from the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation traveled thousands of miles to my office. Ramaphosa, who entered politics in his youth and became a businessman in his middle age, is worth being called a great statesman. Though he did not frequently come to China, he will for sure give high priority to his trip to China as he expects to learn about the Asian powerhouse's reform and opening up, its industrial upgrading effort and anti-corruption endeavor. 

Experiences gained over the last 20 years since China established diplomatic ties with South Africa and their deepened exchanges in all fields ensure that these two emerging economies will fight together against protectionism in the next 20 years and even longer, and also carry out domestic reform so as to benefit both of their peoples. 

(The author is chair and a senior international desk correspondent for China-Africa Correspondent Club. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.)