On September 9th, 2026, Chinese Consul General in Cape Town Ren Faqiang published an article titled "China-South Africa partnerships Expand" on In Cape Times. The full article reads as follows:

In the nine months since I took up my post as Consul General in Cape Town, I have travelled across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape, sitting down with provincial and municipal officials, business leaders, academics, artists, students, and journalists. Each conversation has left me more convinced that beneath the larger narrative, it is these small, specific encounters that truly bring our two peoples closer together. China and South Africa’s All-round Strategic Partnership in the New Era is a picture woven together from political trust, mutually beneficial trade, and cultural closeness.

Provincial and Municipal Ties: Where Friendship Takes Root

The long-standing sister-province relationship between the Western Cape and Shandong, and the sister-city bonds linking Cape Town with Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Shenzhen, have built a steady bridge for exchange across many fields. This May, Western Cape MEC for Social Development Mr Jaco Londt and I exchanged visits to each other’s hometowns: he travelled to Shandong, and I, in turn, journeyed to Mossel Bay. Standing on each other’s home soil, the China-South Africa relationship became something we could feel — the same wind, the same sound of waves.

In August, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane led delegations to China for in-depth discussions on power and energy cooperation. Both provinces hold considerable potential in renewable energy, and China's mature experience and technology in this field offer a natural point of partnership. This September, Cape Town City Manager will travel to Wuhan for the International Friendship Cities Conference, continuing a friendship he has helped build over three decades of visits to China — a living witness to the history of China-South Africa local exchange.

Practical Cooperation: Development That Reaches Ordinary Families

Since taking up my post, I have visited Chinese enterprises operating across the three provinces and seen first-hand how economic cooperation translates into real livelihoods. At Atlantis, Hisense’s factory produces roughly a million televisions and half a million refrigerators a year, proudly marked "Made in South Africa" and shipped across the continent. Behind these numbers are over a thousand direct jobs and more than five thousand indirect ones — each one lighting up hope in a South African household. Community members have told me that crime in the area has visibly declined since the factory took root.

In the energy sector, companies including Longyuan Power, PowerChina, and China Energy Engineering Corporation have invested in dozens of renewable energy projects across the three provinces, supporting South Africa’s energy transition. At the Western Cape Infrastructure Roundtable this July, we discussed how China’s experience in infrastructure planning might support local development priorities. Meanwhile, Chinese automotive brands such as BAIC, Chery, and FAW have won growing favour among South African consumers for their quality and affordability.

Since 1 May this year, China has granted zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines to African countries with which it holds diplomatic relations, opening the Chinese market wider to citrus, wine, rooibos tea, and other South African specialties. In May and June alone, South Africa’s exports to China rose by 29 percent year-on-year. From orchard to exporter, from logistics firms to farmworkers, a new chain of growth is quietly taking shape — extending the livelihoods of countless South African families.

People-to-People Ties: The Foundation That Makes Friendship Last

This year marks the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchange, and local cultural cooperation between China and South Africa has flourished in remarkable ways. Over recent months, the Consulate has recommended nearly twenty individuals from across our consular district for short-term training programmes in China, covering environmental protection, digitalisation, agriculture, tourism, and culture. What they brought home was not only knowledge and experience, but a closer bond between our two peoples.

Among the achievements I hold most dear is the recent friendship agreement between Shandong’s Mount Tai and Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Mount Tai carries the weight of Chinese civilization’s long memory; Table Mountain watches over the vast history of the African continent. As an old Chinese saying goes: "When hearts are aligned, neither mountains nor seas can keep people apart." A distance of thirteen thousand kilometers has been drawn close by shared purpose.

Young people remain the hope through which this friendship will be carried forward. This year, the Consulate has hosted four open-day events for South Africa’s "Generation Z," welcoming students to glimpse a China that is real and approachable. Our young diplomats visited Westford High School to share China's history, society, economy, and culture with more than sixty students preparing for a study trip to China. I believe that what these young people see and feel with their own eyes, once they set foot on Chinese soil, will teach them more than any textbook could — and that they will become the next generation of bridges between our two peoples.

As Consul General in Cape Town, I am deeply honoured to serve as one bridge among many connecting the people of these three provinces with the people of China. The Consulate will continue working closely with provincial and municipal governments, businesses, universities, and cultural institutions across all three provinces — so that this friendship, spanning mountains and seas, may travel further and grow deeper with each generation that carries it forward.