By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Chinese President, Xi Jinping on Wednesday signed a power deal covering emissions technology, electricity transmission and distribution, and nuclear power on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit which started on Tuesday.
The agreements are part of the South African government’s efforts to tackle the lingering power cuts believed to have posed a serious challenge to its economic growth.
According to South Africa’s Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, one of the deals would see Chinese companies share technology to help the struggling state utility company, Eskom cut emissions from its coal-fired power plants.
The agreement would also cover Chinese firms assisting Eskom upgrade its power transmission and distribution infrastructure, and share expertise on nuclear power.
The summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies – comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
It comes to an end on Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city and commercial capital.
BRICS members are seeking to use the summit to forge the grouping into a counterweight to Western dominance of global institutions.
Several countries have indicated interest to join the bloc and their membership applications would be discussed during the summit.
