On September 5, 2002, visiting Premier Zhu Rongji met with South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma at the state guesthouse of Africa.

Zhu passed on Vice President Hu Jintao's cordial regards to Zuma. Zhu told Zuma that he has just held warm and friendly talks with President Thabo Mbeki, adding that the two sides are satisfied with the development of bilateral relations and put forward some new proposals in the possible cooperative fields. Zhu said that China hopes to expand exchanges and cooperation with South Africa in various fields on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, which is not only in accordance with the fundamental interests of the two countries, but also conducive to increasing the voice of developing countries and safeguarding their common justifiable rights and interests.

Zhu congratulated South Africa on its successful hosting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), saying that the summit hosted by South Africa makes it clear that the international community has recognized and appreciated the country's achievements in sustainable development. He also said that the summit provided a chance for countries to discuss some major issues hindering global sustainable development, mobilize all social forces to take concerted actions to deal with the challenges in the 21st Century.

Zuma said that South Africa and China enjoy a long history of friendly contacts, adding that the South African government and the ruling African National Congress of South Africa treasure the relations with China. He said that South Africa thinks China plays a balancing role in the international arena and China' s prosperity will increase the strength of the vast developing countries. He also said that South Africa pays much attention to the South-South cooperation, hopes to increase exchanges, cooperation and consultation with China, and make joint efforts to resolve global issues.