Senior officials from South Africa have hailed Chinese support for the development of South Africa and the Global South as a whole, and pledged joint efforts to promote multilateralism.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg over the weekend, David Masondo, South Africa's deputy minister of finance, said China has been playing a constructive role in helping Africa tackle many challenges in the areas of infrastructure, finance, trade and climate change.

"China has played a very, very constructive role to make sure we grow the global economy as a whole, but also the Global South, by removing a number of barriers that are making it difficult for the Global South to grow," he said.

Masondo said Africans appreciate China's decision to grant zero-tariff treatment to products from 53 African countries, which would strengthen the economic relationship between China and Africa.

China announced a zero-tariff policy in June for all African countries with which China has diplomatic relations to facilitate African exports to China and promote inclusive growth amid rising trade protectionism across the globe.

China has been Africa's biggest trade partner for 16 years in a row. Last year, their bilateral trade reached $296 billion, a rise of 4.8 percent year-on-year. China is also South Africa's biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade reaching $25 billion in the first half of the year.

Increasing investment from China in key sectors such as automobiles has also played an important role in South Africa's economic development, Masondo said.

Chrispin Phiri, spokesman of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said in addition to attracting investment, South Africa is looking to China to boost its capacity to produce goods such as electric cars.

Good partner

"Chinese companies are able to produce a huge number of electric vehicles, and we also want to manufacture those vehicles," he said. "We have one of the most industrialized economies on the African continent; we want to expand our ability to manufacture those goods, and we think China can be a good partner," he said.

Masondo, the deputy minister of finance, also applauded China's efforts to promote multilateralism, saying it has been playing a critical role in tackling pressing global challenges such as climate change.

"China has been supportive in the context of multilateralism. To solve global problems today, we require joint efforts from all countries. We require multilateral platforms to deal with problems that humanity faces today," he said.

Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for the South African president, hailed China's support for multilateralism, while describing his country's relationship with China as "an excellent bilateral relationship in action on multilateral platforms".

"China and South Africa remain closely aligned on many key issues — especially those at the center of South Africa's G20 presidency," he said, adding that there is "no doubt or ambiguity" about the strength of cooperation between the two nations.

South Africa is also looking at future areas of cooperation with China, particularly in new technology, to speed up South Africa's technological development and application, he said.

The South African officials' comments came as world leaders adopted a declaration on Saturday during the G20 Leaders' Summit, despite the absence of the United States, which boycotted the summit.

The declaration emphasizes the urgency of addressing climate change, advancing sustainable development, and reforming global financial systems to promote fairer growth.