- 6/9/2024
The China Now special program informs about this country's news.
Telesur English presents a new episode of "China Now", a wave media's production that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian Giant.
Thinker's forum welcomes Atul Aneja, from the center of geo-economics for the global south and Busani Ngcaweni from the national school of government in South Africa.
China Now is a show that explores the past and future of the Asian Giant.
Telesur English presents a new episode of "China Now", a wave media's production that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian Giant.
Thinker's forum welcomes Atul Aneja, from the center of geo-economics for the global south and Busani Ngcaweni from the national school of government in South Africa.
China Now is a show that explores the past and future of the Asian Giant.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, Tell Us Your English presents a new episode of China Now, a Wave Media's production
00:11that showcases the culture, technology and politics of the Asian giant.
00:16In this first segment, China Currents dives into the top stories of the week, including
00:20the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and the East Asian Summit.
00:24Among others, let's see.
00:29China Currents is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.
00:32We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's
00:38cutting-edge technologies.
00:39Let's get started.
00:40Hello from Shanghai, this is Lisa.
00:52Welcome to another episode of China Currents, your weekly news report of what's trending
00:57in China.
00:58Let's start with the China-Arab State Cooperation Forum, which was opened in Beijing on May
01:0530th.
01:06At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, leaders from Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia and the
01:11UAE well-paced a state visit to China and attend the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial
01:17Conference of the China-Arab State Cooperation Forum.
01:21Chinese state media called the forum a reflection of the solidarity and cooperation between
01:27China and Arab countries, underscoring the willingness of pushing China-Arab relations
01:32to the new stage.
01:34On the 30th, President Xi held talks with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,
01:41in which Xi emphasized the history of friendship between China and Egypt.
01:45He mentioned that Egypt was the first Arab and African state to establish diplomatic
01:50relations with China, and 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Egypt
01:57Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
02:00According to Chinese media, two of the most crucial topics for this forum would be the
02:05Palestine issue and further cooperation between China and Arabic states.
02:10Li Xinggang, a Middle East researcher at Zhejiang University, believes that the four Arabic
02:16countries are either actively involved in pushing for a ceasefire in the current Israeli-Palestinian
02:23conflict or are somewhat involved in the crisis.
02:27The participation of the leaders of these four countries at the Beijing-held conference
02:32on the one hand reflects the importance that these countries attach to promoting cooperation
02:37with China.
02:38On the other hand, this shows that the leaders intend to take this opportunity to discuss
02:43a political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli issue with China.
02:48The common stance to support the just cause of the Palestinian people, shared by China
02:53and Arab countries, has always been a significant element in Arab-China cooperation.
02:59Next up, the East Asian Summit.
03:01On May 26th, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang arrived in Seoul to attend the 9th Trilateral
03:06Summit meeting among China, Japan, and South Korea.
03:11Li had a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Seok-yool and Japanese Prime Minister
03:16Fumio Kishida on the day of his arrival, with Chinese experts from the state media
03:22saying the three major economies in East Asia will make pragmatic efforts to make sure the
03:28economic development and integration of the region will not be affected by bloc confrontation
03:33and geopolitical crisis.
03:35Analysis from China indicates that the three countries are currently facing different challenges
03:41due to the disruption of the global supply chain and other impacts.
03:45So they all have a sincere motivation and realistic desire to resume the trilateral
03:50mechanism at this point, as they want to seek cooperation with each other and prevent potential
03:56instability by boosting senior-level communication between the governments.
04:01Prime Minister Li Qiang was not the only Chinese official who met with Japanese Prime Minister
04:06this week.
04:07On May 29th, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China,
04:12met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.
04:17In his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Liu mainly focused on the issue of Taiwan,
04:22stating that Japan should adhere to the one-China principle, effectively safeguard the political
04:28foundation of the Thais.
04:30Maintaining stability of the Taiwan Strait is in the common interest of both China and
04:36Japan.
04:37Liu's remarks come after Japan's recent reckless reaction towards Taiwan's newly
04:41inaugurated leader, Lai Ching-ke.
04:44Previously, on May 23rd, Chinese foreign ministry slammed Japan, warning the Japanese side not
04:50to provide or support Taiwan's independent separatist forces in any form.
04:56Speaking of turbulence in the sea, on May 29th, state media revealed that China is preparing
05:02to build more Type 055 destroyers, which is a class of stealth-guided missile destroyer
05:08mainly used as a primary escort for Chinese aircraft carriers.
05:13State media stated that the building project reflects the Chinese People's Liberation
05:17Army Navy's strides towards the blue water and efforts in safeguarding national sovereignty,
05:24security and development interests, as well as peace and stability in the world.
05:30According to Shipborne Weapon Magazine, a major non-official Chinese military magazine,
05:35the Type 055 is considered the world's best destroyer in terms of comprehensive capabilities,
05:42and adding more Type 055 can give the PLA more tactical flexibility.
05:48The PLA Navy has been a provider of international security goods since last decade, including
05:54its regular export mission in the Gulf of Aden and waters of Somalia, as well as humanitarian
06:01aid and disaster relief missions when needed.
06:05Next up, still on Taiwan, on May 27th, the 77th WHA, which kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland,
06:13refused to include the proposal of the so-called invitation to Taiwan to participate in the
06:18WHA as an observer.
06:21Chinese Foreign Ministry said WHA's action fully demonstrates the one-China principle
06:27is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends, and must not be challenged.
06:33The ministry indicated that once again, we would like to make it clear to the DPP authorities
06:38that the abiding commitment of the international community to the one-China principle is unshakable,
06:45and the trend that China will be reunified is not to be reversed.
06:49Taiwan's independence runs contrary to the interests of our compatriots in Taiwan, and
06:54any attempt to seek Taiwan's independence by relying on external forces leads nowhere.
07:01The one-China principle is a prerequisite for Taiwan's participation in the activities
07:06of international organizations, including the WHA, and this is a fundamental principle
07:12reaffirmed in the UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA's Resolution 25.1, said Chen Xu, permanent
07:20representative of China to the UN office in Geneva.
07:25Next up, Huawei, the Chinese tech giant's patent has just revealed its 3nm-plus process
07:31technology plans.
07:33According to tech news website Tong's Hardware, when Huawei and semiconductor manufacturer
07:39International Co., SMIC patented self-aligned quadruple-patterning SAQP lithography methods
07:48to produce advanced microchip earlier this year, most assumed the companies were working
07:53on building chips using their 5nm-class fabrication process.
07:58Apparently, that's not the limit of their plans, as Huawei is now looking forward to
08:02using quadruple-patterning for 3nm-class manufacturing technology as well.
08:09Next up, as the Sino-US tech war unfolds, the US is considering measures to regulate
08:14the export of open-source large-language models as part of a broader effect to safeguard
08:19American AI technology from being accessed by countries like China and Russia.
08:25The proposed bill, known as the Enhanced National Framework for Overseas Restrictions of Critical
08:31Export Act, aims to grant the White House the authority to restrict the export of AI
08:36models deemed a national security threat to China.
08:40How would such a ban on open-source LRMs export affect China's AI development?
08:46Or is it the US politicians being dramatic?
08:49To answer this, we need to first take a closer look at Chinese LRMs.
08:53AI experts in Silicon Valley are well aware of what their Chinese colleagues have been
08:58working on.
08:59In a post on X, Head of Research at Stability AI observed that many of the most competitive
09:05open-source large models, including QnE, InternLM, DeepSeq, VGE, COG, VLM, and other
09:13models are actually from China.
09:16And he goes further and concludes that the narrative that China is behind on AI is simply
09:21not true.
09:22Mr. Abraham is definitely not alone in expressing the enthusiasm surrounding the remarkable
09:28performance of Chinese LRMs.
09:31Another ex-POSE, Liquid AI Senior Scientist from Machine Learning, Maxim Le Bon, weighs
09:37in and shares his excitement on the high score of Q1 1.5 to 1.1.0b of Alibaba.
09:46In April this year, the Chinese tech giant released the first trillion-parameter-level
09:51model in Q1 1.5 to 1.1.0b mentioned above.
09:56This model can effectively process content lengths of up to 32k tokens and supports
10:02multiple languages, including English, Chinese, French, Spanish, and German.
10:08Building on the transformer architecture, it incorporates an efficient group query attention
10:13mechanism.
10:14The model's foundational capabilities are on par with those of top-notch Western LRMs,
10:21including outstanding performance in chat-based evolution scenarios such as MTBench and AlpacaEvil
10:282.0.
10:29It's no wonder the Q1 1.5 to 1.0b has claimed the top seat in HuggingFace's league table
10:36for open-source LRMs.
10:38On the high potential of the Q1 model, Bindu Reddy, the founder and CEO of Afarcus.ai,
10:45utters the rallying call for it to join the open-source revolution that would break the
10:51monopoly of big capital.
10:52The rise of Chinese LRMs doesn't stop at Q1.
10:56DeepSeek v2, nicknamed as LRM's TiNU for its surprisingly low cost, has surpassed GPT-4
11:03and claimed a top 3 spot in the LionBench ranking.
11:06The LionBench ranking project focused on benchmarking the alignment of LRMs in Chinese.
11:13DeepSeek v2, while closely rivaling the capability of leading closed-source models, has significantly
11:19reduced its API pricing to $1 USD for every million tokens input and $2 USD for output.
11:28This pricing is only one-seventh of Lama370b and approximately one-hundredth of GPT-4 Turbo,
11:35making it an exceptional value proposition.
11:39Despite its affordability, DeepSeek still managed to turn a profit, achieving a peak
11:45throughput of 50,000 tokens per second on machines equipped with eight H.A.100 GPUs.
11:52With the output API pricing considered, each node generates an income of $50.4 USD per
11:59hour.
12:00Taking into account the cost of the eight H.A.100 nodes in China, stays at around $15
12:07USD per hour, DeepSeek's servers can yield a remarkable profit of $35.4 USD per hour,
12:15resulting in a gross profit margin exceeding 70%.
12:20These notable features, including efficiency, usability, and groundbreaking pricing, address
12:25the urgent need of the open-source community.
12:29These advancements have gained significant attention from SemiAnalysis, a reputable semiconductor
12:35research and consulting company.
12:37In an extensive article published on May 7th, SemiAnalysis specifically highlighted DeepSeek
12:43V2 as the Phoenix from the East, praising its exceptional cost-effectiveness and its
12:49dominance over other models from an economic standpoint.
12:53The article also suggested that industry challenges for open AI and Microsoft may extend beyond
13:01the United States.
13:02While some Chinese models like DeepSeek prioritize the supremacy of computational power focused
13:08on economic efficiency, others like HuWen adopt a comprehensive approach expanding their
13:14repertoire of model sizes.
13:16However, the majority of companies adhere to the scaling law, fervently pursuing large
13:22parameter sizes.
13:24In contrast, Model Best Inc., a Chinese startup, takes a divergent route by striving to minimize
13:31parameters.
13:32Their aim is to maximize model efficiency with lower deployment thresholds and reduce
13:38usage costs, accomplishing more with less.
13:41On February 1st of this year, Model Best unveiled the Mini-CT M2B model, consisting of a mere
13:492.4 billion parameters.
13:51Not only does it outperform models in its class, such as Google's Gemma 2B, but it
13:56also surpasses benchmark models like Mistral's 7B in performance, and even outshines larger
14:02parameter models like Lama 2's 13B and Lama 2's 17B chat in certain aspects.
14:08Only 70 days later, the company is on the move again to reveal the Mini-CT and Lama
14:143's 2.5 multimodal model, which represent a significant leap in performance, showcasing
14:21unprecedented achievement.
14:23Following its open-source release in the international community, Thomas Wall, the
14:27co-founder of HuggingFace, promptly acknowledged this development in a post, remarking,
14:33China has presented a series of astounding technical reports and open-source models such
14:39as the Seek, Mini-CTM, Ultrafeedback, etc.
14:44The data and experimental results are openly shared, a level of transparent knowledge-sharing
14:50that has been missing in recent Western tech model releases.
14:55The smaller parameter size of models like Mini-CTM brings forth numerous advantages.
15:00Firstly, it allows China to overcome the challenge of a relative shortage of advanced AI chips.
15:07Secondly, these compact models can be deployed in devices and robots operating in remote
15:12areas with limited or no internet access.
15:16Presently, most devices powered by large-language models require a consistent connection to
15:21access LRMs deployed on the cloud through APIs.
15:26However, with models like Mini-CTM, robots operating in jungles or underwater environments
15:31can rely on their inbuilt LRMs, independent of external connectivity.
15:37This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for deploying AI capabilities in challenging
15:42and resource-constrained settings.
15:45Furthermore, the case of Mini-CTM LLAMA3 v2.5 provides a valuable lesson on the significance
15:52of international cooperation.
15:54As implied by its name, the model is built upon the open-source LLAMA3 from Meta, serving
16:00as its foundational model.
16:02While the open-source environment strives to narrow the technology gap between nations
16:07and social classes, there are those who seek to widen it.
16:12Vinod Khosla, one of the early investors in OpenAI, has raised concerns about sharing
16:17LRMs with China.
16:19However, no one has responded to this concern better than the AI luminary Yang Lecun,
16:24AI is not a weapon.
16:27This statement by Yang Lecun emphasizes the importance of viewing AI as a tool for progress
16:32and collaboration, rather than a mean to create divisions or conflicts.
16:37It highlights the need for responsible and inclusive development and deployment of AI
16:42technologies, with international cooperation playing a vital role in ensuring ethical and
16:47beneficial outcomes for all.
16:50The case of Mini-CTM LLAMA3 v2.5 demonstrates the positive outcome that can arise from global
16:57collaboration and the open exchange of knowledge and resources in pursuit of advancing AI for
17:03the betterment of society.
17:06And that is all for today.
17:07Thank you for watching this episode of China Current.
17:09If you have any thoughts and comments about our show, please reach us at the email address
17:14below, and Lisa, look forward to hearing from you.
17:17And see you next time.
17:36It was rejected, in fact, in India, because we agree to the formulation that India is
17:51a xenophobic country.
17:53We are civilizationally not xenophobic, and we are welcoming all cultures, all pluralistic
18:01ideas, and we have a culture of debate and acceptance.
18:05So that's absolutely off the mark.
18:07But I think the point is deeper, because I think what the Americans' worldview is that
18:14of a unipolar world, that they are at the center of the universe, right?
18:19And this was reinforced after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and intellectualized
18:26by Fukuyama's idea, end of history, that this is the end.
18:30The Western world has triumphed and the unipolar world has begun, that era has begun permanently.
18:38Now that's the mindset from which they come.
18:40What has happened in between is that the world has become from unipolar to multipolar.
18:47You have new civilizational states which are on the rise.
18:52China, its rise is visible, both in terms of geoeconomic power and geopolitical heft.
18:59It can be seen.
19:01You have a rising Russia, a civilizational state, and India is on the rise.
19:05And we are the fastest growing economy in the world.
19:08So power has diffused, but the Americans and the West generally are unable to reconcile
19:12with new realities.
19:14So in order to force their worldview, they see India, and in this case Japan, and one
19:20more Russia probably, as the other.
19:24You have to other it because you have not moved from your flawed, unrealistic position
19:32that the world is unipolar and America is the center of it.
19:37So I think it's a mismatch into your own bubble in which you live and the ground realities,
19:44which are dramatically opposite to what you think.
19:48I think that's a root cause, the end of history idea, and the permanence of US hegemony, which
19:56is behind such statements.
19:58Obviously, India rejects the statement, I'm sure Russia and Japan reject it too.
20:02We reject it, but we also not only reject that statement, but we reject that mentality,
20:08that way of thinking, that you are the hegemonistic power, which gives no space for other.
20:14I think they cannot accept India following an independent course of its own.
20:21You know, what the Americans want is they want camp followers, the leader of the camp
20:25and others follow.
20:27And that's where the whole Atlantic alliance is built upon.
20:30And if you have countries like Japan, like the European Union, I mean, they all fall
20:35in line.
20:36Whereas in India's case, we respect the Americans, we respect other cultures, but we have a personality
20:41of our own.
20:43And we have a certain role and a worldview, which does not coincide exactly with the way
20:49Americans do.
20:50So the problem is that they will not accept us as equal partners.
20:54And that has been the reason, especially after G20 summit, where India managed to hold its
20:59own and did not take a position against Russia, for example, on the Ukraine issue, which the
21:05Americans are pressurizing us.
21:06We were the ones who were buying Russian oil and in that way, strengthening the Russian
21:11economy.
21:12And that's only increasing despite all the pressures we have demonstrated more recently,
21:16that we pursue the concept of our own strategic autonomy and our own role in the future of
21:23the civilizational state.
21:24And we see that's what's happening.
21:26And it has been demonstrated in various ways.
21:29Canada is one country which really went after accusing us of carrying out extrajudicial
21:34killings in Canada of Sikh separatists, which are wanting a separate state, a separate country.
21:42And the Americans have followed.
21:43In fact, you have the Five Eyes, which is the intelligence grouping of white Anglo-Saxon
21:49world.
21:50I think they've all just come together now against us.
21:53And what happened with Canada was reflected soon with the so-called US demand for investigation
22:01of another plot to kill a Sikh separatist.
22:05And so that's where it is.
22:09You can see that post G20, there are definite examples of hostility, let's say, of unease
22:16and pressurization of India by the Americans.
22:21Because frankly, now they realize that, you know, as the fifth largest economy in the
22:24world with a growth rate of about 8 percent, that we are coming into our own with an independent
22:30mindset in the global system.
22:33And therefore, we will not be a campfire follower, though we may collaborate with the Americans
22:38and the Japanese, the Australians on supply chains, vaccine development, all non-military
22:45areas.
22:46But we are not going to be part of a military pact which is geared to contain China.
22:52I think they've all realized that and therefore have come to this conclusion that India is
22:59not a part of their camp and has bolted away from that.
23:07And that is being reflected since the World Economic Forum of 2020, where Modi was attacked
23:13by George Soros in that forum.
23:15I think the rest of the team has followed it up.
23:18And now the hostility has peaked after the G20 summit.
23:21Let me be realistic.
23:22There is a very strong pro-US lobbyist working inside India.
23:26There is no doubt about it.
23:30There are people who want a relationship which is completely tilted towards the United States.
23:34Then there are voices of balance that we need to engage with both.
23:40So we have people who are not happy with the sort of commercial relations between India
23:49and China going to such levels.
23:51And I am under no illusions that people of goodwill on both sides will have to come together
23:57because there is a fight ahead to look at things logically and in a national interest
24:05and not in an ideological hostile way.
24:09I mean, there are people who get carried away that we are democracies, etc.
24:12So we are natural partners.
24:13Indian democracy predates Western democracy.
24:16It's very different from what they have.
24:19And now you see interference in Indian elections coming because we realize that our way of
24:23thinking and our lifestyles are different from theirs.
24:27There is a need for more space, for more cultures to come in.
24:30The West doesn't like it.
24:32There are people who will not receive this news well and will try and discuttle things.
24:37China has two centenary goals.
24:39One was 2021, the other is 2049.
24:43Similarly, we have a goal of 2047 as the benchmark where India becomes a developed country.
24:48So this is the vision of this government.
24:52If we see the logic and tide of history, I think we are on the right side of history.
24:58And I know there are huge obstacles ahead and difficulties, but personally, I sense
25:06an optimism in the rise of Asia, the rise of Eurasia.
25:11And that's where we will have to be.
25:13We have no option but to be together and take this journey, a very, very post-West
25:21journey as partners.
25:23We must learn to collaborate and make our own rules.
25:27The West always talks about a rule-based system.
25:29Well, of course, we agree, a rule-based system, but then who makes the rules?
25:34And that's important.
25:35I'm not saying that we reverse and we dominate the rest of the world, but a fair world which
25:39is genuinely rule-based, then the rules come from our traditions and our interests.
25:45I think there are going to be various poles in the world, various civilizations coming
25:50together.
25:51And we need to forge these two rules for its full coexistence and prosperity.
25:56And in defining those rules, I think India and China are going to be playing a critical
26:01role.
26:02South Africa is 30 years old this year.
26:08We got democracy in 1994.
26:12Free at last.
26:15We first voted on the 27th of April.
26:19President Mandela was inaugurated on the 10th of May.
26:22So this moment now is an important moment of three decades of democracy.
26:27South Africa is a great country.
26:29I say this having lived there.
26:31I say this having traveled around the world.
26:34I've been to about 60 countries around the world.
26:38And my being in these 60 countries around the world affirms this view that South Africa
26:43is a great country, not just because of its natural splendor and beauty, but also because
26:49of the human spirit that characterizes South Africa.
26:54And so necessarily there are some important questions that we are asking ourselves as
26:59ordinary South Africans, but of course, even a government, private sector, and others,
27:06which says, what is it of the experience of 30 years can be used as a building block for
27:14the next decade, which means up to 40 years, 50, and beyond?
27:21What lessons have we learned?
27:23Lessons such as low growth of the manufacturing sector.
27:28Lessons such as having minerals still dominating our export basket.
27:34In fact, the top five, you see primary sectors still dominate.
27:40Lessons such as our experimentation with state building and its outcomes.
27:46We've got very robust institutions.
27:50Some of them are fragile, they've gone through some challenges, but they have regrouped.
27:57How then do we use all of these experiences, including dealing with the discontents from
28:04pandemics, the discontents from the global economic downturn, which has an effect on
28:12the real economy, because after the 2008 downturn, we lost jobs in the real economy, because
28:17our economy is interconnected.
28:20After the pandemic, 2020, we also lost jobs in the real economy.
28:24So we're taking stock of all of those to say, how do we build shock absorbers in South
28:29African society, so that when the next pandemic comes, it doesn't affect us as much as the
28:36last one, so that when the next big global economic crisis comes, that we are able to
28:42shield the economy and to shield the people of South Africa from those type of shocks.
28:48And so that is the challenge between us.
28:51What brings dynamism and excitement in elections in South Africa, especially after 2004, is
29:00that we have new generations that are voting.
29:05Also at every election, we have new and more political parties that are entering the fray.
29:12That is what is new.
29:14But 1994, of course, was big.
29:16And then the subsequent elections, and then 2004, we began to see an expansion of the
29:23number of people who are contesting the elections.
29:26And in the last election, we had the so-called born free.
29:34These are people who were born in 1994, who had no history of apartheid entering the fray.
29:40And that's what then gives momentum.
29:42And now, of course, those people who are born free are voting again, and there's new
29:48political parties that have emerged.
29:51And there's always been many people who tried their luck.
29:54At the end of the day, you would not have more than, say, 10, 11 parties represented
30:00in parliament, even if four of them were contesting.
30:02At the voting stations, people narrowed down the list.
30:06Myself, I'm voting here in Shanghai at the consulate, and I'm sure there's other South
30:13Africans who will be voting.
30:15People are excited about it.
30:18Of course, sometimes people will be affected by other national issues, especially the economy.
30:25When the economy does well, sometimes people come out because they're excited.
30:30But also sometimes when the economy does well, people stay at home and they don't go to vote
30:35because they think things are okay.
30:37So these things are cyclical.
30:39But they are a sign that South Africa's democracy is vibrant, is lively, is very much stable,
30:45stable as it were.
30:47We disagree as an open democracy on many things, but we agree on the fundamental issues around
30:54the national development and what needs to be done.
30:57I don't think people will interfere with our elections.
30:59South Africans are very conscious about their choices and decisions, and I don't think there
31:06will be external forces that can sway people to vote in a manner in which they didn't want
31:11to vote.
31:12And our election is very credible.
31:14You vote here at the station.
31:18There are political party agents here at the station.
31:21Counting and verification is done with party agents here observing.
31:27Once all of them are satisfied, they are signed, then they are uploaded onto the platform.
31:34So there is not even a remote chance that you can talk about vote rigging because all
31:39party agents sit there at the voting station until the results are sent through to the
31:46results, to the results center, and there's more young people who are trying their chance
31:52even as independent candidates.
31:54Of course, we will know within seven days after the 29th of May whether or not the voters
32:01will affirm them.
32:02But there is a trend in South Africa.
32:04The trend is that people tend to trust political parties or institutions because they see that
32:11people belong.
32:12Sometimes people are suspicious of people who may not have the history of belonging
32:17somewhere because they have no track record.
32:19They are unsure what those people represent.
32:23So that is what this election is about.
32:25You know, I have read all manifestos of all political parties.
32:30I do it without faith.
32:33I read these manifestos and I look at what is common amongst these manifestos and I look
32:40at points of diversion.
32:42In the majority of cases, people agree.
32:46Where they differ is on the how-to and the extent and maybe the priorities.
32:51Substantively, everybody in these manifestos, they're talking about improving the quality
32:59of education.
33:00They're talking about increasing manufacturing capacity, increasing agricultural output,
33:07increasing export, reinvesting in infrastructure, addressing issues of gender-based violence.
33:14And they're also talking about international solidarity.
33:17South Africa continues to play an active role in building of an order characterized
33:22by equity and justice.
33:26And geopolitically, Nelson Mandela in 1994 said, South Africa will not be the skunk of
33:35the world again.
33:37He said that because South Africa has gone through a period of isolation because of apartheid
33:44and there was a big international solidarity movement that ended up with the isolation
33:50of South Africa, you know, sanctions, you know, boycotts and so on.
33:55And all of those were important.
33:57Now going forward, the big issues for us is how do we remain on this path that we are
34:06in now?
34:08We become a positive player in global affairs.
34:13We have seen the work that we are doing in Palestine.
34:18We have a moral obligation to do work like Archangels.
34:22We are happy that, you know, many countries in the global South are supportive of the
34:26actions of our state president, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa.
34:31The president has been very clear that President Mandela said South Africa's contribution to
34:39the world, that we must give the world a human face.
34:43And so that is why our president is busy doing what he's doing with regards to Gaza
34:51and so on.
34:52In fact, President Mandela said South Africa's freedom is incomplete until Palestine is
35:02free.
35:03So we're almost bound to continue doing the work of supporting these Palestinian people
35:11until they gain their freedom.
35:13So going forward, South Africa will continue to play a crucial role in BRICS.
35:17Our president is very clear about the role of BRICS.
35:21We'll continue to play a crucial role at other multilateral forums such as the United
35:25Nations.
35:26Our president, President Ramaphosa, is very clear about the need to transform the global
35:31multilateral system and that it must serve the agenda of building community of people
35:38and countries and societies that live peacefully in a rules-based global order.
35:45And that's what has been preoccupying.
35:47There is no party in South Africa conducting elections that says South Africa must not
35:51have a relationship with China.
35:52There isn't.
35:53Now, let's say there was, right?
35:57Here is the reality.
35:59There is no political party that can say let's stop a relationship with a country that is
36:04our largest trading partner.
36:07There is no country that can do that.
36:09South Africa certainly cannot do that.
36:13The U.S. is putting trade barriers, but the U.S. can't say we will sever all economic
36:19ties because the amount of integration of these economies is greater than what politicians
36:24say at the end of the day.
36:26So we talk to business people.
36:27Here in China, a few weeks ago, there was an auto show in Beijing.
36:34We saw global CEOs who manage these big global automotive car companies who were there speaking.
36:44And all of them understand, and they were saying it there, that from a trade point of
36:49view, the world is much more interconnected than what politicians may be saying.
36:55Because there are markets and there are places where people are producing, and these products
37:00are moving using very sophisticated global value and supply chains such that you could
37:07be here and eating, enjoying a meal which has avocado.
37:14And the avocado could be made or farmed in a province in South Africa, or it could be
37:21in Zambia or anywhere else in the world.
37:24So I think the relations will continue to grow.
37:29We need much more people-to-people contacts, building understanding and bonds amongst ordinary
37:35people other than politicians.
37:39The BRICS platform is important, the Asian platform is important, and there are many
37:45other platforms that exist in the Global South for people to engage.
37:50And this was another episode of China Now, a show that opens a window to the present
37:59and future of the Asian giant.
38:02Hope you enjoyed it.
38:03See you next time.