Premier Li Keqiang meets Baleka Mbete, speaker of South Africa's National Assembly, in Beijing on April 7. [Photo by Du Yang/China News Service]

China encourages enterprises to invest in South Africa in fields such as port construction and oil and gas development to foster a new growth point of bilateral cooperation, Premier Li Keqiang told visiting Speaker Baleka Mbete of South Africa's National Assembly on April 7.

China and South Africa, sharing a similar philosophy in development, are highly complementary in trade and economic cooperation, and enjoy huge potential for cooperation, Li said.

China is willing to carry out industrial and capacity cooperation with South Africa, and help to boost South Africa's industrialization with its spare capacity, he said.

The Premier also spoke highly of the progress made in developing the China-South Africa relationship, saying China is willing to strengthen exchanges between governments, parliaments, political parties and the people.

China will work with South Africa to implement a strategic plan for bilateral cooperation and to hold the ministers' meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, he said.

Mbete, for her part, thanked China for its long-term support for Africa's development and assistance in fighting the Ebola virus.

She said her country welcomes more Chinese firms to invest and Chinese tourists to visit there.

South Africa is willing to expand mutual cooperation and people-to-people exchanges with China, deepening the bilateral relationship, she said.