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This groundbreaking project is part of the government's interventions in manufacturing as an important pillar of the economy and will help further attract foreign investor confidence in South Africa.
This investment is also one of the outcomes of the good trade relations between South Africa and China, the report says.
It was announced in 2012 that the plant would be built in South Africa because of the country's infrastructure.
China funding
The R600m truck assembly plant is jointly funded by China FAW group corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund.
"The decision to build the FAW plant in South Africa is very significant from a global perspective, as it is one of the most important and largest investments made by a Chinese entity in the country to date," the presidency said in a statement.
"This plant will contribute significantly to national goals for socio-economic development, enshrined in the definitive government policy on development, including the national development plan, new growth path and the industrial policy action plans," it added.
"The FAW investment is also of strategic importance to the country's economy, in particular the Nelson Mandela Bay and the greater Eastern Cape region in terms of generating foreign direct investment that in turn will create sustainable jobs and provide opportunities for skills development and training," said the statement.
The plant will initially assemble 5 000 trucks annually for the sub-Saharan African market, where FAW plans to entrench itself as a leader in the local commercial vehicle market among the manufacturers and importers of Chinese-origin vehicles.
