S. Africans eagerly awaiting president's arrival

South Africans are looking forward to President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country, while the "rainbow nation" prepares to receive the leaders of BRICS countries for the 3-day summit.

Xi is scheduled to arrive in Pretoria, the capital, on Monday - following his trips to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal and Rwanda - on his third state visit to the African country.

Xi's visit will comprehensively deepen bilateral ties, safeguard multilateralism and push for jointly building a community of shared future in much closer manner, Lin Songtian, China's ambassador to South Africa, said ahead of the visit.

Bian Dongjie, vice-president of the South Africa-China People's Friendship Association, based in Johannesburg, said in an interview that he expects Xi's visit will bring more business opportunities to South Africa, as many Chinese entrepreneurs will accompany him on the visit.

Yan Qiong, CEO of Star-Times Media (South Africa) Pty Ltd, told China Daily that like many Chinese people working in South Africa, he is looking forward to Xi's visit, which he believes will bring about even closer economic links between the two countries.

"I feel the development of the China-South Africa relationship is excellent," said Yan, who has been working in South Africa for two years. "Without stable and sound bilateral ties, we cannot have a good investment environment in an African country far from the motherland."

A young woman who works for a Chinese restaurant in Johannesburg and gave her surname Qiu said she hopes Xi visits the restaurant. If he comes, Qiu said, she wants to treat him to local-flavor dishes.

On the streets of Sandton section of Johannesburg, where the venue of the BRICS summit, the International Convention Center, is located, banners of the summit have been put up to welcome the attending guests.

Temporary traffic measures will be taken around the venue of the summit to facilitate delegates having smooth access, according to a government statement.

About 1,100 media accreditation applications have been received for the summit, and a media center, with facilities for print, online and electronic media, will be available at the summit venue, according to South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

This year, South Africa assumes the rotating chairmanship of BRICS, a bloc of the world's leading emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Johannesburg BRICS Summit, themed "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution", will be a milestone, representing a decade of BRICS cooperation at the highest diplomatic level.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn