The upcoming visit by South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is to bring the Sino-South African strategic partnership to a higher level, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma in a meeting in Beijing Thursday.

 

Mbeki will attend the Third Ministerial Conference and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation slated for November 3-5, before paying a state visit to China.

 

"The China-South Africa relations have peaked this year with most frequently exchange of high-level visits and fruitful cooperation in a broad sphere," said Li.

 

Zuma said she believed the Beijing Summit would succeed and forcefully spur the friendly cooperative ties between China and Africa countries.

 

She said South Africa has attached great importance to its relationship with China and is satisfied with the development over the past decade.

 

Zuma hoped both sides could further tighten trade cooperation and promote people-to-people exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and strengthen cooperation on global affairs.

 

Both sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)