By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday held a telephone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, where he intimated Xi with the planned visit of African leaders to Beijing.
The visit seeks to broker a peace talk to end hostilities, the South African presidency said on Saturday.
Chinese state broadcaster confirmed the telephone conversation between the two leaders on Friday.
The South Africa’s presidency in a statement said Ramaphosa told Xi he noted the peace plan which Beijing proposes and affirmed the support of African leaders for initiatives to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine following a war that broke out since Feb. 2022.
“President Xi Jinping commended the initiative by the African continent and acknowledged the impact the conflict has had on human lives and on food security in Africa,” the presidency statement said.
On May 16, Ramaphosa announced the African peace plan, whose details have not been made public. The peace plan is also backed by the leaders of Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo and Zambia.
During Friday’s call, Ramaphosa and Xi had also discussed the summit of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), which is due to be hosted by South Africa in August.
