A senior South African trade minister called for more structurally balanced trade agreement between China and South Africa, as the latter is not satisfied with being solely an exporter of raw material and wants to look towards exporting more goods and commodities of a higher value.

Rob Davies, the minister of South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry (FILE)

Rob Davies, the minister of South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry, made the remarks at a press conference during the 17th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), an annual event held in the coastal city of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on September 8-11.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa. South Africa was made the guest of honor at the 17th CIFIT and had the largest pavilion out of all of the countries and regions represented at the event.

Heading a delegation comprising of 62 enterprises to the 2013 CIFIT fair to look for business opportunities, Davies said 42 of them exhibit high-value-added products, ranging from agricultural processing products to services and engineering. The other 20 showcased investment opportunities in the country.

Davies said his delegation also plans hold exhibitions in Shanghai and Beijing from September 11-13, to further promote value-added exports to China.

In 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao and South African President Jacob Zuma signed the Beijing Declaration on establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Davies said that a pivotal part of the partnership is to optimize trade structures.

China has been South Africa's largest trading partner since 2008, both in terms of imports and exports. Last year, South Africa's trade deficit with China rose and the country's exports to China declined, compared to 2011.

Davies attributed the decline to the plunge of mineral product prices amid global economic downturn.

"This is a reminder that we can't simply be a producer and exporter of raw materials," Davies told Beijing Review. "We've got to move up the value chain. That's why we've been emphasizing the exports of value-added products to the Chinese market. "

Davies believes a rebalancing of South Africa's trade with China is bound to increase mutual trust and promote mutual development between the two countries.

(Reporting from Xiamen, Fujian Province)