Basic Education Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekga, joined local and international government representatives at the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria on 5 March 2024, to bid farewell to Ambassador Chen Xiaodong and his wife, Madame Zhang Bin. The farewell reception was organised by the Chinese Government to honour the sterling work done by the ambassador in strengthening the bilateral relations between South Africa and the People’s Republic of China.

Sharing the highlights on the bilateral relations between South Africa and the People’s Republic of China, the Director for the International Relations at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Ms Hleki Mabunda, said that South Africa and China have thriving bilateral relations, which were pillared by a 2010 Declaration, in which China was declared South Africa’s strategic partner through the Beijing Declaration on the Establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. “One of the pillars of the strategy is the People-to-people Exchanges and Cooperation. In response to the strategic mandate, South Africa and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Field of Basic Education. The MoU was signed in March 2013, during a Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit in South Africa held in Durban. The DBE and the Chinese Ministry of Education further signed an Implementation plan on the MoU on 24 February 2014, in Beijing, China.  

Both parties cemented the partnership in various programmes, including the Chinese Language Teaching in South Africa and the Exchanges and Visit Programmes.  The Chinese Language Teaching in South Africa saw Mandarin being introduced as an elective foreign language in the South African school’s curriculum as early as 2016, with a view to build more understanding, alleviate cultural barriers, and strengthen people to people relations between the two countries. Since 2018, the Department has been hosting Chinese language advisors at the DBE (periodically contracted by the Chinese government) to promote Chinese language and culture in public schools. The DBE also welcomed a new Chinese Language subject advisor during March 2023.

“Through   the Exchanges and Visit Programmes, a number of official visits, exchanges and study tours, covering a wide range of subjects, have been conducted to date. Education officials at the DBE and provincial levels have also been attending virtual courses and seminars on education related topics arranged by various Chinese institutions of learning. Approximately 42 teachers, subject advisors and education officials participated in study tours in China during 2023.  The partnership was also cemented in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, whilst more attention was concentrated on digital education.  “The Chinese Government, through its Embassy in Pretoria, heeded the call when KwaZulu-Natal experienced devastating floods in April 2022, and donated an amount of R200,000. The Minister requested that these funds be used to transport school furniture donated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment. On 24 July 2022, the furniture was delivered to 30 schools in the KwaZulu-Natal Province,” explained Ms Mabunda.

Minister Motshekga said that, through the partnership, both parties gained insights and shared best practice in various fields including education, health and culture. Ambassador Chen Xiaodong said that his stay in South Africa has been fulfilling and thanked the South African Government for making it possible for China to invest in the transformation of people’s lives for the better: “I therefore encourage the South African Government to provide the same support to my successor who will be resuming his duty as the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa”.