China will deepen and expand trade and investment cooperation with South Africa, besides strengthening cooperation in emerging fields, the country's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with South African Vice-President Paul Mashatile in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa.

Wang said China and South Africa enjoy a profound friendship. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has led to tremendous development in the two countries.

China will persistently implement the important points of the consensus reached by the two heads of state. Specifically, it will promote more high-quality South African exports to China, encourage Chinese enterprises to deepen cooperation with their counterparts in South Africa's manufacturing, mining, agriculture and other fields, and expand cooperation in emerging fields like new energy, digital economy and cross-border e-commerce, Wang said.

Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said: "The trade and investment cooperation between China and South Africa in the past years set a great example for major developing economies. Based on their own advantages, the two countries have carried out effective and mutually beneficial cooperation, and achieved significant growth in trade.

"Currently, the development of the global economy requires new paths. China has been actively exploring emerging fields like the digital economy and e-commerce, which provides a good model and reference for African countries including South Africa. The prospects for cooperation between the two countries in such fields are promising," he said.

Xi Yang, a senior partner at Liaoning Care Law Firm, said: "The two countries' cooperation in new energy also has good prospects as new energy is an important direction in global green development, and the cooperation fosters the sustainable development of the two countries."

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the e-commerce research department of the Ministry of Commerce, said, "The cooperation between the two countries in emerging fields demonstrates their common interest in economic transformation and innovative development. In the new energy field, the two nations can carry out deeper cooperation in renewable energy and clean energy-related technologies.

"In terms of the digital economy and cross-border e-commerce, China and South Africa may foster cooperation in enhancing connectivity and innovations in digital technologies."

Mashatile said South Africa cherishes its special friendship with China, highly appreciates the achievements of cooperation between the two countries, hopes to further expand the export of agricultural and industrial products to China, and will strive to attract more Chinese enterprises to invest and grow in South Africa, to create more job opportunities and promote socioeconomic development.

South Africa will host leaders of the other BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China — at a summit in Johannesburg later this month.