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Chinese Consul General in Johannesburg Pan Qingjiang has urged Wits University students travelling to China to embrace the opportunity to learn about the country\u2019s development path, telling them that \u201cChina is a place worth knowing and discovering\u201d.<\/p>\n
Pan addressed students and staff at the Wits University youth delegation send-off meeting, noting that this year marks the second consecutive year that the Chinese Consulate General in Johannesburg has supported the Wits Students Leadership Programme. He said the Consulate was “delighted” to have the opportunity to meet the lecturers and students in person, before they visited the People’s Republic of China.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you ready? Are you excited?\u201d Pan asked the students, saying China\u2019s long history, splendid culture, and dynamic development would make the trip worthwhile.<\/p>\n
China outlines development roadmap<\/strong><\/p>\n Pan said the students\u2019 visit comes shortly after the Communist Party of China held the Fourth Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee, which adopted recommendations for the next Five-Year Plan \u2014 a document he described as a \u201cclear roadmap for China\u2019s development over the next five years\u201d.<\/p>\n He highlighted China\u2019s recent economic performance, saying the country had achieved \u201cnew historic milestones\u201d with GDP growing at an average annual rate of 5.5%, surpassing 130 trillion yuan in 2024 and expected to reach 140 trillion yuan this year. He said China is shifting from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement, driven by innovation in advanced manufacturing, integrated circuits, new energy batteries, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Describing green development as \u201ca defining feature of Chinese modernization\u201d, Pan pointed to improved air and water quality, expanded forest coverage and China\u2019s dominance in clean-energy production.<\/p>\n \u201cChina now accounts for over 80% of global photovoltaic output and over 60% of global new energy vehicle production and sales,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pan also stressed that China \u201calways puts its people at the center\u201d, highlighting rising incomes, expanded education access and strengthened social protection. He said the next planning cycle aims to build \u201ca happy China where every child is cared for, every student educated\u2026 and every vulnerable group protected\u201d.<\/p>\n What the Wits students will experience in China<\/strong><\/p>\n Over nearly two weeks, the Wits delegation will visit Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, gaining exposure to China\u2019s universities, technology centres and cultural heritage.<\/p>\n In Beijing, students will explore historic sites such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and either the Summer Palace or the Chinese National Museum. They will also visit leading academic and innovation hubs, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhongguancun Hi-Tech Park or JD.com, and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD.<\/p>\n A visit to the China Africa Institute or the China Urban Planning Institute will cover China\u2013Africa relations and urbanisation.<\/p>\n The group will then travel by high-speed train to Hangzhou, where they will tour the Alibaba campus, meet students and researchers at Zhejiang University and visit YaoLi Village in Huzhou to learn about rural cultural revitalisation. A stop at Westlake will offer cultural immersion.<\/p>\n In Shanghai, students will explore institutions such as Fudan University, Tongji University and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Their programme includes a meeting with the Consul General at the Consulate, a tour of the New Development Bank to learn about green financing for Africa, and visits to the Westbank Art Center regeneration project and the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Zone.<\/p>\n The trip will end in Shenzhen, where the delegation will tour the Huawei Innovation Center and learn about the city\u2019s global leadership in ICT and technology innovation.<\/p>\n Strong and growing China\u2013South Africa ties<\/strong><\/p>\n Pan emphasised that China has been South Africa\u2019s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. He highlighted October\u2019s signing of a stone fruit protocol that opens the Chinese market to South African apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums and prunes \u2014 a move he said would increase incomes for local farmers and exporters.<\/p>\n More than 200 Chinese companies have invested over US$11 billion in South Africa, creating over 400,000 local jobs, Pan added.<\/p>\n \u2018Travel opens up your world of possibilities\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Wits Dean of Student Affairs Jerome September told the students the tour would broaden their horizons.<\/p>\n \u201cAs someone who has travelled before\u2026 travel opens up your world of possibilities,\u201d he said, recalling arriving in a highly digitised country where \u201cI never met a customs official because everything was electronic\u2026 the gates just open, and off you go.\u201d<\/p>\n He said travel \u201cchallenges what you think to be true, what you think you know, and\u2026 adds to the many layers of your understanding of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n September reminded the students that the trip was a learning mission. \u201cYou are going into a society that is well established, with a very strong sense of who they are, of their culture, of their history and of their future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With doors opened for them \u2014 including a visit to Huawei \u2014 he urged the students to \u201cgo full in. Appreciate what you see\u2026 learn as much as you possibly can, but also have fun. Ask the questions that you have always had\u2026 in a respectful way.\u201d<\/p>\n Pan closed off by wishing the group \u201can enjoyable, fruitful and inspiring trip to China,\u201d adding that the Consulate General looked forward to hearing their insights upon return.<\/p>\n jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za<\/strong><\/p>\n News<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Chinese Consul General in Johannesburg Pan Qingjiang has urged Wits University students travelling to China to embrace the opportunity to learn about the country\u2019s development path, telling them that \u201cChina is a place worth knowing and discovering\u201d. Pan addressed students and staff at the Wits University youth delegation send-off meeting, noting that this year marks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[15501,756,18337,4692,15302,757,11855,16172,12411,2649,1481],"class_list":["post-264247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-beijing","tag-bids","tag-braamfontein","tag-china","tag-consul","tag-farewell","tag-general","tag-heading","tag-pan","tag-students","tag-wits"],"yoast_head":"\nGet your news on the go. Download the latest App for <\/span>Android <\/span>and <\/span>IOS <\/span>now.<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"