On January 1, South Africa and China celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa issued a statement on the same day, saying that over the past 25 years, South Africa and China have deepened bilateral relations in various fields and achieved fruitful results in mutually beneficial cooperation. The statement said that South Africa and China enjoy booming economic relations. China is currently South Africa's largest global trading partner, and South Africa is also China's largest trading partner in Africa. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the trade volume between the two countries has increased significantly. "More importantly, this mutually beneficial relationship supports South Africa's foreign policy goals of domestic development and promotes the broader socio-economic development goals of the African continent," the statement said. The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said that this year South Africa will take over the presidency of the BRICS countries from China, and the two countries will continue to work closely under the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation. (Liu Xinshe)