6 November 2013
South African deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe has called for more Chinese investment and involvement in boosting infrastructure in South Africa and the continent as a whole.
Commenting after a four-day trip to China, Mr Motlanthe said mega infrastructure projects could "promote financial cooperation between Africa and China", China’s Global Times reported.
"We need to improve the movement of goods and people across various borders of Africa," Motlanthe said, giving the example of the African North-South Corridor, an African Union project to build roads and railways through eight countries from Cairo to Cape Town.
The South African deputy president wants to increase ties with China (Credit: US Navy/Wikimedia)
"That kind of inter-connectivity will also open up prospects for even tri-party cooperation, including Chinese companies," Motlanthe said.
South Africa is currently China’s top trade partner in Africa and China is South Africa’s largest global trade partner.
The World Bank has estimated that it would take $93bn every year to narrow the infrastructure gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
