The City of Cape Town’s delegation to China, headed by Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, is hard at work cementing bilateral, mutually beneficial ties between the two countries.

The delegation, which comprises City politicians and officials, is in China to attend the World Economic Forum’s ‘Meeting of New Champions’ session.

At the meeting, the Executive Mayor spoke about ‘The promise of smart energy’ and reiterated the importance of investing in the ‘green’ economy.

Interviewed by the Global Times newspaper after the meeting, Alderman Plato said the potential for co-operation with Chinese cities on renewable energy was substantial, given Cape Town’s experience with ‘green’ development.

Global Times reporter, Guo Lu, wrote: “A metropolis with great natural beauty and a rich culture, Cape Town was ranked one of the top green cities in the world last year, according to the Ethisphere Institute, a New York-based business ethics and social responsibility think tank.”

The Cape Town delegation will be on the lookout for other examples of environmentally-friendly investment projects in China, and ways to encourage Chinese tourism to South Africa before it returns next week. China’s large population makes tourism an obvious choice for joint ventures and co-operation between the two countries – especially if issuing visas becomes easier, said Alderman Plato.

“Doing business with China requires patience because our cultures are so different. We need to try to understand each other and continue working together”, Plato said. Trade between China and South Africa still faces challenges with trade volume having declined by 23 percent to $5.6 billion in 2008.

According to Alderman Plato, South Africa offers a number of policies to encourage investment from overseas. The China-Africa Development Fund, for example, is the first government-supported fund set up to encourage Sino-African trade.

The Mayor added, however, that the fund is not well-known and not enough people utilize it. "But it could help business people conducting business between China and South Africa get financing," he said.

The delegation has used the meeting as an opportunity to showcase Cape Town as a world class tourism and business destination. The city is to host World Economic Forum meetings for the next five years - an arrangement that is expected to have positive spin offs for the local tourism industry.

In Huangshan, which the delegation visited to investigate areas of mutual interest, the Mayor signed a friendship agreement with the City of Huangshan that will facilitate closer economic ties between the two cities.

Mansoor Mohamed, the Executive Director for Economic, Social Development and Tourism, said: "The signing of this pact has made it easier for the City of Cape Town to facilitate business relationships for South African companies in China. This agreement will enhance Cape Town’s role as an access point for Chinese companies wanting to do business in Africa. A number of opportunities for co-operation have already been identified, such as synergies in tourism development and bilateral trade."

The delegation will conclude its visit to China with a site inspection of Bejing’s Olympic infrastructure in preparation for Cape Town’s upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.