Mogale City hosts Chinese delegation
The bilateral agreement between Mogale City and the Republic of China dates back to 2003 when a delegation from the Wujiang municipality visited the City.
Mogale City’s Executive Mayor councillor Koketso Calvin Seerane showed his political will recently when he hosted a delegation from the Republic of China.
Seerane accompanied by the members of the mayoral committee, executive managers and the municipal manager welcomed the 10-man delegation from the Zhangjiajie People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (ZPAFFC).
In his welcoming address he said the visit by the Chinese delegation shows there are common factors between Mogale City and China, and the City has a lot to offer to its people and the outside world.
“We are proud as a city to have you in our city and this shows that Mogale City and the Chinese Republic have a lot in common. You are welcome and we are looking forward to strengthening economic and friendship relations between our city and yours,” Seerane said.
He gave a comprehensive overview of the City and indicated to the delegation that tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and mining are the pillar industries of Mogale City. Like Mogale City, Zhangjiajie specialises in tourism as its industry pillar.
Addressing the mayor through an interpreter, the leader of the delegation and chairman of the ZPAFFC, Yang Guangdong, was impressed about the reception.
“We took a 10-hour flight from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg. We are delighted about the reception we got from your people,” Guangdong said.
“The place is clean and beautiful. Our first impression of the city was its welcoming people and its ecosystem. This clearly shows that there are common features between our cities and we look forward to working with you,” he added.
According to Guangdong, the ZPAFFC has been looking actively for a city in SA with which they could build a sister-sister relation. The Chinese Embassy in SA recommended Mogale City as the most suitable city.
The relation was based on similarities such as economic construction and social development. The bilateral agreement is expected to yield huge potential of cooperation and communication.
“Based on these similarities we therefore have selected your city as our first choice in South Africa. We hope that we could have more opportunities of association and communication, in enhancing understanding and developing friendship, mutual benefit and cooperation,” Guangdong added.
Zhangjiajie is a newly developed international tourism city in the northwest of the Hunan province. The city has a population of 1,68 million and is the birthplace of the late Mao Zedong. After the formalities the delegation visited Maropeng Interpretation Centre where they learned about the Cradle of Humankind in detail.
In a bid to cement relations, the Seerane and Guangdong exchanged gifts and the entourage was treated to a sumptuous meal.
In his second term Seerane has hosted and visited the Republic of China on more than one occasion to strengthen trade and economic relations.
The bilateral agreement between Mogale City and the Republic of China dates back to 2003 when a delegation from the Wujiang municipality visited the City.
