Radebe stressed the importance of Africa’s relations with China at the Chinese-Africa Media Summit underway in Cape Town.
The summit has brought together the heads of about 120 media houses from China and 47 African countries.
Its aim is to cement cooperation between African and Chinese media and deepen cultural understanding.
Today’s media summit takes place ahead of this week’s forum on Africa-China cooperation (Focac) in Johannesburg, to be co-chaired by President Jacob Zuma and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Over the past 15 years, trade between China and Africa has ballooned from around $10 billion, to a staggering $220 billion.
According to the China-Africa business council, Chinese companies now have a presence in almost every country on the African continent.
Radebe says: “China is the biggest trading partner not only with South Africa but Africa as a whole, which indicates that the future is with China. So, we need to nurture this relationship and cooperation, so that it is mutually beneficial.”
Radebe says the media, both in China and Africa, can play a pivotal role in deepening relations, by disseminating information and holding governments to account.
