BEIJING -- 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.

Xi said strengthening solidarity and cooperation between China and South Africa is in line with the two peoples' common expectations and the historical process of the Global South's growth.

The Chinese president called on the two countries to lead the bilateral relationship forward with high-level strategic mutual trust and stressed joint efforts to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, enhance cooperation in the digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in human resource development.

Xi said China will open its door wider to African countries, adding that the country stands ready to work with South Africa and other African countries to create new momentum for cooperation and promote high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation.

The more complex the international situation becomes, the more the Global South countries must uphold independence, strengthen unity and cooperation, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, Xi said.

Ramaphosa said South Africa will remain a trustworthy and reliable friend of China.

By seizing the opportunity of building the all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, South Africa will expand and deepen pragmatic cooperation with China in fields such as economy, trade, investment, infrastructure, new energy and poverty reduction. It will also boost people-to-people exchanges and educational and cultural cooperation with China, the president said.

Ramaphosa noted that cooperation under the FOCAC framework has delivered massive benefits to African countries, including South Africa.

South Africa supports the six common understandings on the political settlement of the Ukraine issue jointly proposed by China and Brazil, he said, adding that the country will continue to boost communication and collaboration with China under the BRICS, G20 and other multilateral frameworks.

After the meeting, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a raft of bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as the application of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. The two sides also released a joint statement on building their all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.

Prior to the meeting, Xi held a welcoming ceremony for Ramaphosa at the Great Hall of the People.