駐南非大使田學軍在“慶祝中南建交十五周年”學術研討會上的講話

Keynote Speech by H.E. Ambassador Tian Xuejun at the Ambassadorial Forum on China-South Africa Diplomatic Relations at 15 Years

2013年9月19日，比勒陀利亞，南非

Pretoria, South Africa, 19 September 2013

很高興出席“慶祝中南建交十五周年”學術研討會。今天是中國的中秋節，是一個象征著團圓和美滿的日子。來自中南兩國的官員、學者和各界人士匯聚于此，共同回顧中南關系過去15年的歷程，展望中南關系美好的明天，極具象征意義。首先，我謹代表中國駐南非大使館，對各位來賓表示熱烈歡迎，對你們長期以來為促進中南友好合作關系所作出的不懈努力和重要貢獻致以最誠摯的謝意！作為“慶祝中南建交十五周年”系列活動之一，我期待本次研討會能為中南關系今后的發展提供更多的真知灼見。

It’s a great pleasure for me to attend this Ambassadorial Forum marking 15 years of China-South Africa diplomatic relations. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, which is also known as the Moon-cake Festival. This is a day for happiness and family reunion. It’s very symbolic that we gather here today with so many friends from both China and South Africa, to review what we have achieved in the past 15 years and to look ahead into the future.

To begin with, I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, our warmest greetings to all the guests present today. Thank you for your long-time commitment and contribution to China-South Africa friendship and cooperation. This forum is one of a series of events marking the 15th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, and I look forward to learning from your thoughts and insights for the future development of our relationship.

女士們、先生們，

Ladies and Gentlemen,

中國和南非雖遠隔千山萬水，但兩國友好交往和傳統友誼源遠流長。15年前的1998年1月1日，兩國正式建立外交關系，這是中南關系史上的一件大事，開啟了中南關系的新紀元。15年來，我們生活的世界發生了深刻的變化，中南關系也發生了巨大的變化。我愿意圍繞三個問題，與大家分享我對中南關系發展的看法。

Though China and South Africa are far apart, the friendship and exchanges between our two peoples date back to ancient times. Fifteen years ago, on January 1st 1998, China and South Africa formally established diplomatic relationship. This was a milestone in our bilateral relations, and opened up a new era. The past one-and-a-half decades have witnessed profound changes in international landscape, as well as major developments in China-South Africa ties. Today I wish to share with you my observations on China-South Africa relationship by raising three questions and offering my answers.

第一個問題，如何評價15年來中南關系的發展？

The first question is: how do we assess the development of this bilateral relationship in the past 15 years?

我認為，可以用三個V來概括：

I think my answers will be around three words starting with the initial letter V, as in victory:

第一個是“VISION”。兩國領導人始終以戰略眼光審視并推動兩國關系發展。兩國關系定位從2000年的伙伴關系、到2004年的戰略伙伴關系、再到2010年的全面戰略伙伴關系，實現了歷史性跨越，兩國關系層次逐步提升。頻繁的高層互訪為中南關系發展指明了方向，成為推動兩國全方位合作的強大動力。過去15年來，中國歷屆國家主席、人大委員長、總理等領導人幾乎都訪問過南非，南非領導人亦多次訪華。去年7月，祖馬總統訪華并出席中非合作論壇第五屆部長級會議。今年3月，中國新任國家主席習近平上任伊始就對南非進行了國事訪問，并出席了在德班舉行的金磚國家領導人第五次會晤。

The first word is Vision. The leaderships of the two countries have always had a strategic vision in reviewing and promoting this relationship. Our relationship has achieved historic leaps and was elevated from partnership in 2000, to strategic partnership in 2004 and to comprehensive strategic partnership in 2010. Frequent high-level exchanges have guided the development of bilateral relations, and have been the strong driving force behind the cooperation in various areas between our two countries. For the past 15 years, almost all successive Chinese leaderships, including Presidents, NPC Chairpersons and Premiers, have visited South Africa. Likewise, many South African leaders visited China on various occasions. In July last year, President Zuma visited China and attended the opening ceremony of the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. And in March this year, the new Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a highly successful state visit to South Africa and attended the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban during his first overseas trip after taking office.

第二個是“VELOCITY”。中南關系過去15年的快速發展令人驚嘆。以經貿為例，雙邊貿易額從建交時約15億美元增至2012年的近600億美元，15年間增長了40倍。今年1－8月，中南貿易額達442億美元，同比增長13.3%。中國已連續4年成為南非第一大貿易伙伴國、第一大出口市場和第一大進口來源地，南非則是中國在非洲第一大貿易伙伴國。2012年中國公民赴南旅游人數超過13萬，同比增長56%。目前南非是與中國建立友好城市最多、設立孔子學院最多、吸引中國游客最多和接收中國留學生最多的非洲國家。

The second word is Velocity. The speed at which China-SA relationship grows for the past 15 years is amazing. Take economic relations and trade as an example: our bilateral trade volume was only about US$1.5 billion when the diplomatic relationship was first established. But in 2012, the figure reached nearly US$60 billion, which means an increase of about 40 times in the past 15 years. For the first 8 months of this year, our trade volume reached US$44.2 billion, registering an increase of 13.3% from the same period last year. China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner country, largest export market and largest source of import for the past four consecutive years. Meanwhile, South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa. In 2012, more than 130,000 Chinese tourists travelled to South Africa, an increase of 56% from the previous year. South Africa, compared with other African countries, has the largest number of sister cities with China and the largest number of Confucius Institutes and also attracts the largest number of Chinese tourists and Chinese overseas students.

第三個“VITALITY”。中南關系的活力來源于兩國戰略利益和戰略目標的一致性。兩國都是發展中國家和新興大國，面臨著相似的發展機遇與挑戰，在重大國際和地區問題上有著廣泛共識。中南關系的活力還體現在內容豐富、形式多樣的交流機制上，比如副元首級的國家雙邊委員會，今年下半年在北京將舉行第五次會議；比如兩國議會定期交流、戰略對話、聯合工作組等機制。南非目前還擔任中非合作論壇非方主席國和金磚國家輪值主席國。兩國在上述機制框架下保持著密切而有效的合作。

The third word is Vitality. The vitality of this relationship comes from the convergence in the strategic interests and objectives of both countries. We are both developing countries and emerging economies. We face similar opportunities and challenges in development, and we share broad consensus on major international and regional issues. The vitality of this relationship is reflected in the rich content and diversified forms of our exchange mechanisms. For example, we have the Bi-National Commission at the Deputy President level and the fifth BNC plenary meeting will be held in Beijing in late October. We also have many other mechanisms, such as the regular exchange mechanism between our two parliaments, the strategic dialogue and the Joint Working Group. South Africa is now the co-Chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and has assumed the rotating presidency of BRICS. Our two countries are now having close and effective cooperation in the above mentioned mechanisms.

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