China and South Africa have launched an initiative on cooperation supporting modernization in Africa. The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. It builds on commitments made at the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit where China announced 10 partnership actions to support Africa's modernization. CGTN's Yolisa Njamela has more. 

This is a cooperation initiative between China and South Africa to support Africa's modernization and encourage the international community to increase attention and investment in Africa.

YOLISA NJAMELA Johannesburg, South Africa "The initiative is part of a broader commitment to deepen cooperation and promote the common development of both countries and the African continent as a whole."

ZHAO WENFEI Minister Counsellor, Chinese Embassy in South Africa "The initiative on cooperation supporting modernization in Africa was jointly drafted by China and Africa. It has distinctive African features and it has the cause for Africa's development. Its features include a huge population going together towards the goal of modernization, common prosperity for all. We believe each one should not be left behind, material and cultural ethnic progress, harmony between humanity and nature and very importantly, peaceful development. China has proven through its own practice that modernization is by no means a single-choice question, nor is it a privilege reserved for a small handful of countries."

The initiative also calls on other countries to enhance international cooperation on green infrastructure and green mining.

LIN FENG Director General, International Trade and Economic Affairs, Chinese Ministry of Commerce "The initiative comes amid urgent calls for deeper international cooperation in the field of mineral resources. Green and low-carbon development is injecting new impetus into high-quality development of the mineral sector and creating new development opportunities for all countries. The initiative paints a blueprint providing feasible paths towards green sustainable development in mining. It elucidates the concepts of green mining and minerals and identifies seven cooperation areas to share benefits through joint contribution in a flexible practical manner."

It's an initiative that has the backing of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,or UNCTAD.

REBECA GRYNSPAN Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development "We at UNCTAD are very committed, very supportive of the initiative that have been presented and especially we have been participating in the green mining and minerals initiative that is so close to what we do. And let me start by saying that somewhere in rural South Africa, tonight, a family will turn on lights powered by the sun. In a village in Ethiopia, a clinic will refrigerate vaccines using battery storage and Chinese technology and investments have made very important contributions for these awesome possibilities to exist at all."

The details of the initiative and how it will be rolled out have not yet been announced. But its launch is yet another reminder of the increasing cooperation between China and South Africa, whose impact is being felt in both countries and the wider African continent as well.

Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa.