The sight of the Great Wall cutting across the snow-capped mountains and disappearing into the horizon changed the life of one South African forever.

Kobus van der Wath was inspired by the wall so much he made China his new home and has been living and working in the capital for the past three years.

The Great Wall made him realize China had a history of building great things.

Van der Wath began his career at the South African Reserve Bank in Pretoria, worked in London as an emerging market strategist and later moved to Asia with the Standard Chartered Bank.

The 37-year-old businessman now runs Beijing Axis, a consultancy that helps southern African businesses enter the Chinese market and vice versa.

"The Great Wall made me realized the scale and significance (of what) the Chinese people have made in history, and the greatness of this ancient civilization that underpins modern China," said Van der Wath, business director of the South Africa China Business Association (SACBA) and author of "Doing Business in China."

"The wall is symbolic of the determination and tenacity of the Chinese people and their deeply ingrained ability to organize, mobilize resources, commit themselves to an objective. Above all it seemed to reveal their inherent inclination to strategize, from the earliest times, in their quest to prevail."

South Africa has a long history with China, marked by a special document housed at the South African Parliament's Millennium Project.

The priceless piece of paper is the world's oldest map of Africa. The 1389 map charts the coastline and rivers of South Africa and was discovered in a Beijing archive, evidence that Chinese adventurers had visited Africa more than 600 years ago.

In recent times, South African political and economic connections with China have leapt forward faster than a springbok on the open plains.

South Africa is China's largest African trading partner, representing more than 20 per cent of business it conducts with the continent.

China is South Africa's fifth largest bilateral trading partner, behind Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Van der Wath said China would become a more important trade partner for South Africa over the next 10 years.

"As China's economy increases its technology base, their products will become high-quality, low-cost substitutes for US and European imports," he said.

"At the same time, as China's domestic market grows it will absorb an incrementally larger share of South Africa's exports compared to slow-growth, mature Western markets."

Bilateral trade between South Africa and China reached US$7.27 billion last year and is growing at record rates, figures from the South Africa side show.

South African businesses have invested more than US$300 million in China in more than 70 projects.

These include SABMiller's beer franchise, Kumba's Qingdao port facility and its stake in Hongye zinc refinery, and Sasol's polymer investment near Shanghai.

MIH, a multinational media company with most of its operations in South Africa, is involved in a Chinese Government initiative to connect all villages to a radio and TV transmission network. South African President Thabo Mbeki will visit MIH this morning during his state visit to China.

SABMiller's involvement with the China Resource Enterprise is the toast of the beer-making business. The maker of Snow beer and owner of more than 40 breweries across the nation recently became the No 1 brewer in China.

Van der Wath considers himself a true Beijing resident. He bought a house in north Beijing, has a steady Chinese girlfriend and enjoys the company of his new Chinese friends.

"My life in Beijing is fantastic. I love everything about it, the food and the people. The people make China great. They are reserved, intelligent and think before they speak," he said.

"I travel back to South Africa every month, but actually enjoy the 12-hour travel time because I get a lot of work done on the plane. When I fly back into Beijing, it's great to be back home."

(China Daily 11/06/2006 page3)