Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi began a two-day visit to South Africa Monday, marking 10 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to AP. Yang paid a brief courtesy visit to President Thabo Mbeki before meeting with foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in Pretoria. It was the start of a tour of Africa, where China foreign ministry officials have traditionally started the year in a sign of the importance they place on the resource-rich continent. Yang was also to visit Congo, Burundi and Ethiopia.
