South African official eyes strong manufacturing cooperation with China

Beijing Automobile International Corporation or BAIC, China's fifth largest car maker, is building a vehicle manufacturing plant in the Coega Special Economic Zone in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

With an investment of 100 million US dollars, the project is to implement one of the MOUs signed between China and South Africa at the Forum of China Africa Cooperation held in Johannesburg in 2015.

It is being built in two phases and aims to produce 100-thousand cars per year.

Figures suggest South Africa's automotive industry is one of the largest of the country's manufacturing sectors, contributing 7.5 percent to the economy.

Charles Manuel, Minister Counselor of Economics at the South African Embassy to China [Photo: China Plus]

For more on the cooperation between China and South Africa in car manufacturing and the clean energy sector, Su Yi talked with Charles Manuel, Minister Counselor of Economics at the South African Embassy to China.