Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Yang Jiechi has met with South Africa's Foreign Affairs Minister and President Cyril Ramaphosa, in Cape Town. CGTN'S Rene Del Carme is there and filed this report.

RENE DEL CARME CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA The visit by the high-ranking diplomat is the first high level Chinese visit to Africa since the Two Sessions meeting in Beijing this month. And it coincides with the 20th celebration of the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. The main focus of this visit is the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the two trade partners. As well as the exchange of ideas ahead of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in July and the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, to be held in Beijing, in September, this year. Yang Jiechi is widely regarded as one of the architects of China's Foreign Policy. And some analysts say President Xi Jinping's decision to send him to South Africa highlights the significance of the China-South Africa relationship. Rene Del Carme, CGTN, Cape Town, South Africa.