South Africa is keen to welcome investors from China in sectors such as electric vehicles and battery manufacturing, the country’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, has said.

Speaking after a four-day working visit to China to attract investors, Patel said his high-level delegation had visited Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing to meet government officials and investors, and also a number of Chinese electric vehicle and battery manufacturers.

“The investors we met were very interested in the market, particularly with the commencement of trade by South Africa under the?African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” he said.

“I found them knowledgeable about local market conditions and keen to explore investment partnerships. This builds on positive sentiment we found in September last year in New York among American investors too.”

Patel held meetings with eight Chinese companies, met six South African companies operating in China and made two factory site visits.

A statement from his government department said Patel had also interacted with investors in the steel and energy sectors and discussed their plans for the South African market.

The strategy known as the South African Automotive Master Plan 2035 is focused on vehicle and component production. In December, South Africa released the Electric Vehicle white paper which seeks to support the transition to zero-emission vehicle production for the export and domestic market.