Room to Grow.docVIP

Room to Grow 　　Though the year 2016 saw a downturn in the automobile industry in general due to the sluggish global economy， Beijing Automobile Works （BAW） South Africa， a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned enterprise BAIC Group， proved an exception. Li Yongfu， General Manager of BAW， credits it to the company’s“going out” strategy. 　　“In 2013， we set up a factory in South Africa’s Johannesburg. Since then， it has produced more than 3，000 vehicles with total revenue of 170 million yuan （$24.6 million），” Li said at the Investing in South Africa seminar， organized by the South African Embassy in Beijing and the China BRICS Business Council Secretariat in Beijing on December 20. 　　“The South African Government gave us strong support in many ways， including tax incentives and a convenient visa policy，” Li said. 　　BAW South Africa is one of the diverse facets of the new wave of China-Africa cooperation in industrialization. According to the Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office of the Embassy of China in South Africa， by the end of 2015， China’s direct investment in South Africa amounted to nearly $13 billion， with 75 percent of it going into sectors like finance， manufacturing and processing， trade-related services， agriculture， and transportation. 　　Since the establishment of China-South Africa diplomatic relations 18 years ago， economic cooperation between the two countries has been growing. China is now South Africa’s largest trading partner， and South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa. 　　“In China’s economic development strategy， the government has always stressed ‘going out’ to encourage domestic enterprises to strengthen overseas investment. Therefore， there is huge potential in China-South Africa trade cooperation，” said Dolana Msimang， South African Ambassador to China. 　　South Africa’s attractions for foreign investors include infrastructure， communications technology， transport and logistics， and finance. In addition， the gover