Xu Ganlu, vice minister of Public Security and administrator of the National Immigration Administration (NIA), met with Thulani Mavuso, South Africa's acting director general of Home Affairs on November 12. Thulani Mavuso made the visit to Beijing at the invitation of NIA, and had in-depth and friendly exchanges with the host on the China-South Africa cooperation in law enforcement and immigration affairs.

Xu Ganlu noted that China and South Africa are both important developing countries and emerging powers. Against the current backdrop of complex and volatile international environment, the two countries should adhere to multilateralism and strengthen coordination. Since last year, historic exchanges have been made through the visits by President Xi Jinping and President Ramaphosa, and the leaders of the two countries have made unanimous decision to jointly promote the eight major initiatives of China-Africa cooperation, providing political guidance for the development of bilateral relations, and charting the way for bilateral cooperation in law enforcement and immigration.

Xu said, China and South Africa enjoy close personnel exchanges, and the authorities of internal affairs and immigration of the two countries should further strengthen cooperation to strive for more practical results. China stands ready with South Africa to earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two leaders and to inject new impetus into the development of China-South Africa relations. To this end, the Chinese side put forward the following proposals.

First, to further facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries. China welcomes people from all countries, including South African citizens, to come to China for investment, business, leisure, sight-seeing and study. It is hoped that the two sides will continue to introduce more practical measures to facilitate personnel exchanges and make greater contributions to the promotion of exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Second, to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of each other's institutions and citizens. China will take effective measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of South African tourists, investors and students in China. It is hoped that South Africa will further forge a Safer South Africa, effectively crack down on various illegal and criminal activities, and effectively strengthen the protection of Chinese institutions and people in South Africa.

Third, to strengthen practical immigration cooperation. It is hoped that the authorities of internal affairs and immigration of the two sides will maintain regular meetings and exchanges, promote institutionalized and mechanism-based cooperation, start the negotiation and signing of cooperation documents between the two authorities at an early date, develop the legal basis for bilateral cooperation, further innovate cooperation models, enrich cooperation connotation, and strengthen coordination and practical cooperation in areas such as curbing transnational crimes, cracking down on illegal immigration activities and strengthening capacity building.

Mavuso extended his gratitude for the invitation from the Chinese side. Recognizing the close bilateral cooperation in various fields, he expressed his gratitude for China's long-standing assistance and support to South Africa. China has forward-looking vision, rich experience and advanced technology in public security and immigration management. South Africa hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in capacity building, and plans to send a delegation to China next year for research and study. South Africa looks forward to starting the negotiation and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China at an early date, and will continue to take effective measures to protect the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens in South Africa.

Prior to the above meeting, Mavuso and Li Yulu, vice administrator of NIA, co-chaired the third director-level working meeting between the immigration authorities of China and South Africa. The two sides reviewed immigration cooperation and exchanges, informed each other of the institutional reforms of their respective departments and the development of immigration administrative services. The meeting parties also exchanged views and reached important consensus on various issues including the negotiation and signing of MOU between the two sides, facilitating personnel exchanges between China and South Africa, deepening cooperation on border inspections, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens of both countries, and strengthening the capacity building in immigration.

Officials from the Department of International Cooperation on Immigration Affairs, Department of Foreigners Management, Department of Citizen Exit and Entry Management, and Department of Frontier Inspection and Management of the National Immigration Administration attended the meetings and talks.

Notice: The English version is only for reference. To learn more, please refer to the authoritative Chinese version.