July 24 local time in South Africa，中国国家主席习近平和南非总统拉马福萨以视频连线方式共同见证了北汽南非工厂首款整车下线，The two leaders pressed the start button together，The first BAIC X25 assembled and produced locally in South Africa successfully rolled off the assembly line under the joint witness of the leaders of the two countries。

在现场视频连线中，习近平主席发表了热情洋溢的讲话，表达了对北汽南非工厂及更多中南合作项目的美好祝愿：“北汽南非的第一辆车成功下线，我对此表示热烈的祝贺。This is an agreement that was signed several years ago。We have seen it put its money where its mouth is, and it has been successfully implemented here today。"Today, President Ramaphosa and I have jointly witnessed a number of China-South Africa cooperation projects。We hope that, like BAIC's China-South Africa cooperation, they will be able to land, blossom and bear fruit in the future。Here I wish the cooperation between Zhongnan BAIC a complete success!”

The head of state witnessed the joint construction of the highlight project of China-South Africa cooperation

China is one of the most important cooperative partners of South Africa. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago, China-South Africa relations have achieved a "triple jump" from partnership, strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership, and become a model of China-Africa cooperation and South-South cooperation。

2015年，习近平主席在中非峰会上提出在未来3年同非方重点实施“十大合作计划”。In order to promote the implementation of the Ten major Plans, China and South Africa signed 26 bilateral agreements with a total value of RMB 41.9 billion under the witness of the leaders of the two countries。Among them, BAIC Group and South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed a joint venture cooperation memorandum of understanding with a total investment of 800 million US dollars (about 5 billion yuan) BAIC South Africa plant project。

Baic South Africa plant was officially laid in August 2016，Production will begin at the end of this year，Baic manufactures passenger cars, off-road vehicles, light trucks and other automotive products suitable for the local market，Both left and right rudder automotive products are produced，It is expected to be based in South Africa，It is an important automobile manufacturing base in overseas markets such as the African continent。Baic South Africa plant is not only the largest automobile plant invested by Chinese enterprises in South Africa and Africa, but also a model of effective docking between the new demand of South Africa's industrialization development and the new momentum of China's production capacity cooperation。

At the off-line ceremony，Xu Heyi, party secretary and chairman of BAIC Group, called the cooperation between the two sides "golden cooperation"，He says，We need to connect with deeper strategies，The "golden core" of solidarity and mutual trust;Complement each other with deeper strengths，Build a solid "golden foundation" for mutual benefit;Driven by deeper innovation，To create a "golden engine" for common development;With deeper people-to-people exchanges，Tighten the Golden bond of cultural integration。

Technology leads the way in defining a new global benchmark for green production

One is the largest developing country in the world, the other is the engine leading Africa's industrialization. Based on 20 years of friendship, China and South Africa have made use of the natural advantages of complementary resources and shown new features in production capacity cooperation that adapt to the development of The Times。

According to BAIC South Africa project manager introduction，Baic South Africa plant is different from the general sense of wholly owned overseas factories，It is based on South African industrial development，Build a production base covering the whole industrial chain of research and development, procurement, production, sales and financial services，To vehicle manufacturing to drive parts, logistics warehousing and other own business，Within five years，60% of parts will be supplied locally，This will open up more areas of convergence and development for cooperation。

Baic South Africa plant insists on building "high standards.，Environmental protection type，"Intelligent" factory as the norm，A range of the industry's highest standard tooling equipment is used，Automation, intelligent level of international brands，Use industrial robots as much as possible，While reducing the labor intensity of workers，Ensure quality and product consistency;The manufacturing process and the design of the entire plant have fully considered energy saving and environmental protection，Adopt mature and advanced manufacturing technology，Adopt low pollution, energy saving technology，其中，The base paint in the primer, middle paint and top paint is water-based paint;Under the same welding conditions，The comprehensive energy consumption of carbon dioxide gas shielded welding is about 60% of that of manual arc welding，Production efficiency is also increased by 1.2～2.4倍。In addition, a series of effective management measures have been taken in terms of electrical energy saving, water energy saving, gas energy saving, etc., so that the three wastes after treatment can meet the emission requirements of the local environmental protection department in South Africa and become a veritable "green factory" in the local area.。

Baic South Africa project through the construction of a new platform, the development of local customization and international cooperation，To create first-class technology, exquisite quality, cost leading intelligent modeling benchmark，It will become the manufacturing place of high-end products, the transformation place of high-end technology, the gathering place of high-end talents and the birthplace of high-end brands in South Africa and even the entire African automobile industry，It will also strongly promote the transformation of old and new driving forces for the development of South Africa's industrial economy，To meet South Africa's capacity development needs，Achieve win-win cooperation，Common development。

Strengthen cooperation to seek the development of a community of common destiny

As the initiator of BAIC South Africa project cooperation, BAIC Group has a 60-year industrial history and is one of the backbone automobile enterprises in China。In 2017, BAIC Group sold 2.51 million vehicles with an operating income of 470.3 billion yuan, ranking 124th in the latest edition of Fortune Global 500 in 2018。Baic Group has established a complete industrial chain covering vehicle (including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, new energy vehicles) and parts research and development, manufacturing, automobile service trade, comprehensive travel services, finance and investment，It has realized the strategic extension to general aviation and other industries，It has become a state-owned large automobile enterprise group with the most complete product variety, the most complete industrial chain and the leading new energy automobile market in the domestic automobile industry。In recent years, BAIC Group has accelerated the pace of "going out", and the market has spread to more than 40 countries and regions around the world。

As one of the investors of the project, South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is a large state-owned enterprise in South Africa with a long history of nearly 78 years, and has operations throughout South Africa and other African countries. It is a financial company that provides financial support for enterprises and investment projects to promote the development of industrialization in Africa。The strong cooperation between BAIC Group and the South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will help open a new era of cooperation between the two countries。

Baic Group Party secretary, chairman Xu Heyi said，The successful completion of BAIC South Africa project，It is a fruitful result of the construction of the "Belt and Road" and the practice of industrial cooperation，It is a brilliant flower of fulfilling the responsibilities of major state-owned enterprises and sharing the opportunities of BRICS cooperation，It is also a solid step to deepen China-South Africa comprehensive strategic cooperation and jointly build a China-Africa community with a shared future。As long as the two sides adhere to strategic mutual trust, mutual benefit, innovative development and cultural integration, BAIC South Africa will surely become a golden card of China-South Africa practical cooperation and write a golden poem of China-South Africa cooperation in the new era。