By Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) -South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told China's Xi Jinping on Monday he wanted to narrow his country's trade deficit with Beijing, days before the Chinese leader is due to urge a summit of 50 African nations to buy more Chinese goods.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is in China for a state visit to bolster South Africa’s relationship with the Asian giant. During their initial meeting on Monday, Ramaphosa highlighted that next year's G20 Summit,

Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced the elevation of bilateral ties to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era. Xi held talks with Ramaphosa, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and a state visit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony for visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Monday, Chinese state media reported. Ramaphosa arrived in the Chinese capital before the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit,

The two sides reaffirmed that they cherish the special and ever-growing friendship between the two countries and recommitted to working together towards building a high-quality China-South Africa community,

READ: China rolls out the red carpet for African leaders Ramaphosa is on a state visit there, and will participate in this week's four day China-Africa Forum. Senior research fellow for African Diplomacy and Leadership,