[Overview] Located at the center of South Africa, the Gauteng Province covers an area of 18,176 square kilometers with a population of about 12.3 million. Johannesburg, the capital of Gauteng Province, is also the largest city of South Africa. Tshwane, another major city in the province that used to be called Pretoria, is the administrative capital of the country.
[Politics] The premier of Gauteng Province is elected by the Provincial Legislature and the position is usually undertaken by the leader of the majority party in the legislature. The premier will select no more than 10 members of the legislature to form the Executive Council, which upon approval of the legislature will, along with the premier, constitute the leadership of the provincial government for a term of five years. The incumbent premier David Makhura came into office in May 2014.
[Economy] As the economic engine and commercial and industrial center of South Africa, Gauteng's Provincial GDP accounts for nearly 40% of the national total. Main sectors of the provincial economy include financial and commercial service, logistics, communication and mining, and great efforts are also made to develop high-tech industries and those with high added values.
[Culture and Education] As an important educational center of South Africa, Gauteng Province is home to the University of Pretoria, the country's largest boarding school, and the University of South Africa, one of the largest correspondence universities in the world. The province also abounds in cultural and entertaining facilities, including more than 60 museums. Gauteng Province was an important host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as the opening and closing ceremonies and the first and last matches were all held in the city of Johannesburg.
[Relations with Beijing] Beijing and Gauteng Province established the sister-city relationship on December 6, 1998, and they signed the memorandum of cooperation in March 2017. Both sides have maintained positive official ties in recent years, and worked closely in such areas as investment and trade, legislation, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
Investment and Trade: In September 2015, Beijing held an economic and trade cooperation forum in Pretoria (Tshwane now), at which participants had fruitful discussions about the prospects of cooperation between Beijing and South Africa, and their respective investment climate and preferential policies. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-Council (CCPIT Beijing) and Sino Afro Progression Economic and Trading Association (SAPETA) signed a friendly cooperation agreement. In March 2017, the Beijing Capital Highway Development Group and South Africa's LANDPAC signed an agreement on deepening their strategic cooperation, whereby the two sides would focus on technologies of recycling waste tires, asphalt and rubber and work together to build eco-friendly roads and promote circular economy.
Legislation: In November 2019, a delegation led by the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Chairpersons of Gauteng Provincial Legislature visited Beijing, and held in-depth talks with Beijing Municipal People's Congress on the work mechanisms and functions of local people's congress. The visit promoted the exchanges and cooperation between the two local legislative bodies.
Culture: In September 2009, a Beijing delegation consisting of about 90 performers participated in the Pale Ya Rona Carnival in Gauteng Province, where they were warmly welcomed by the local audience. In September 2015, the Beijing Week was launched as part of the 2015 Year of China event in South Africa, which brought the tie closer between Beijing and Gauteng, enriched the areas of cooperation between sister cities, and resulted in wide consensuses on mutual learning between cultures, business collaboration and other issues.
People-to-People Exchanges: In July 2014, the Gauteng Office of the Premier assigned people to attend the training session for Chinese language teachers from sister cities in Beijing. The two-week language training deepened their understanding of the city.