A South African diplomat reassured Chinese yesterday that his country is "safe" for travel or business despite the killings of three Chinese nationals in Johannesburg earlier this month.

The government is increasing safety budgets, police forces and international co-operation to make South Africa a "zero-crime" country, Vusi B. Koloane, minister plenipotentiary of the South African Embassy in China, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"South Africa does not have as bad a crime record as some media have reported," Koloane said. "It is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of safety, which does not discriminate on the basis of colour, gender or age."

Statistics show crime has been declining in South Africa for the past five years, he said.

According to statistics from the embassy, the number of people being killed decreased by 37 per cent last year compared with 2004, hijacking cases dropped by 29 per cent and robberies fell by 30 per cent.

"We do have some criminals in South Africa, and we also have a high number of illegal immigrants coming from other countries, who contribute to the crimes," Koloane said.

He stressed criminals were not targeting specific national groups.

Three Chinese businesspeople were killed in South Africa by armed robbers within a 36-hour period earlier this month, and another one was killed earlier this year.

"We are working with two police officers from China and Chinese Embassy officials to get the suspects," he said. "We do hope, with our co-operation with the Chinese Government, we'll be able to resolve every single case that affects Chinese nationals."

He also expressed condolences on behalf of the South African Government to the victims' families.

According to official statistics, at least 100,000 Chinese nationals are working or living in South Africa, and Koloane said the actual figure could be higher because of illegal immigration. Most of them do business in the country.

More than 40 armed robbery cases against Chinese citizens or overseas Chinese occurred in South Africa last year, leading to eight fatalities, Xinhua News Agency reported last week.

The surge has aroused public concerns across China, and Chinese with business activities in Africa are calling on both governments to take more effective measures to guarantee their personal and property safety.

"We are very concerned about the recent attacks, and fear that the poor security situation in South Africa will have a negative impact on our business there," Ren Haijin, general manager of Zhejiang Metals & Minerals Import-Export Corp based in East China's coastal province of Zhejiang, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

Ren's company has been conducting business activities in South Africa for many years, with an annual trade volume of more than US$10 million.

"If our personal safety cannot be guaranteed, how can we continue to carry out business there?" he said.

South Africa remained China's largest trade partner in Africa last year, with the trade volume between the two countries growing 23 per cent year-on-year to US$7.27 billion, according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

Source: China Daily