The Bank of China and the SA trade department were due to finalise the implementation‚ which would include specific projects to receive investment‚ and related timelines.
The DTI also struck a deal with the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NDRC)‚ specifically targeted at a special economic zone to be developed in the Limpopo area of Musina-Makhado.
The deal would include the construction of a 4‚600MW coal-fired power plant over six years and a cement production plant over three years. It would also include investments in stainless steel plants and ferro-chromium/manganese plants.
Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha‚ who is part of the delegation accompanying Ramaphosa in Beijing‚ said the investment was worth around $10-billion.
"It's beneficial to the people of South Africa as a whole because this special economic zone is going to employ a maximum of about 21‚000 people‚ it covers a space of 60km‚ and the companies that we've signed with are big companies‚ they are conglomerates‚ all of them from China‚" said Mathabatha.
"But we're starting to see other South African companies coming on board. For example‚ we've got Coal of Africa here with us as part of the delegation led by the president."