"Howzit, my china," is how I envision President Cyril Ramaphosa greeting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping when the leaders meet this week for their bilateral tête-à-tête, and the BRICS summit. No, it is not a Sinophobic slur; rather, "my china" – in lower case – is a proudly South African colloquialism denoting friendship and is taken from the British slang term, "china plate", which rhymes with mate, according to the Urban Dictionary. I imagined the greeting mentioned above while observing the brewing bromance between Ramaphosa and the Chinese leader, heading into Tuesday's state visit by Xi for the BRICS summit, which is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Source: News 24 August 22, 2023 12:45 UTC