China and South Africa announced a "comprehensive strategic partnership" on Tuesday during South African President Jacob Zuma's first state visit to China.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Zuma signed the Beijing Declaration after their one-hour talk in the Great Hall of the People Tuesday afternoon, during which the two presidents praised the growth of bilateral ties and agreed to lift relations to new heights.

"In this new spirit of China-South Africa relations, we will work together to advance the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership," Hu told Zuma.

Hu made specific proposals that the two countries maintain close contacts between leaders, utilize cooperative mechanism to further implement bilateral cooperation documents and strengthen exchanges between ruling parties and legislatures.

In the economic area, Hu hoped both sides would promote trade and investment growth, energy cooperation and optimize financial services.

China and South Africa need to work together in culture, education, media, health and tourism, Hu said, bolstering more academic and research cooperation.

On the multilateral front, the countries need to improve consultation and coordination to further South-to-South cooperation and tackle global challenges.