CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Facing the question about cultural difficulties in working with a Chinese bank, the Standard Bank chief executive said on Thursday that the two sides have dealt with issues easily and speedily, hailing the smooth cooperation.

    "We have regarded the relations with ICBC (the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) as absolutely straightforward. We found the ICBC focusing on making profits, generating revenues and business, all things we had expected. No difficulties." said Jacko Maree, group chief executive of the Standard Bank, on the sidelines of the 19th World Economic Forum on Africa being held here from Wednesday to Friday.

    In the joint interview with ICBC Chairman of the Board Jiang Jianqing, Maree said his bank has a team in Beijing with more than20 professionals which can have frequent contacts with ICBC on projects.

    As for the Standard Bank's development strategy, Waree stressed the importance of cooperation. "We found it is far better to find a strong strategic partner in China rather than doing our own business," said Waree.

    The chief executive said there are many South African companies doing business in China and that the Standard Bank Group has found they can make it easy for South African firms that do wish to do business in China as it has relations with Chinese bank.

    "So many firms come to us and we have helped them to have meetings with Chinese bank," said Maree.

    The ICBC has purchased 20 percent of interest in the Standard Bank, the largest in South Africa.

    Maree also said, "Chinese friends can help us in the world crisis which we can say is a dangerous opportunity because it gives stronger ones an opportunity to do things that they cannot do before."

    "It is fortunate that we have strong capital position and our bank is comfortable in the downturn. We are able to make some move," said Maree, " Because we are a relatively small bank, we also try to grow like any other banks."

    Ahead of the joint interview, Maree said at the "Exploring China's News Silk Road" meeting that there is a clear difference between opportunities for Africa in trade with the developed economies and emerging economies. Chinese investment in this is long-term and strategic.

    A change in Western mindsets is needed to understand China and its economic importance. Building trust is paramount, said Maree in his speech. He noted that three months of negotiations between the ICBC and the Standard Bank involved many people in China and there were no leaks.

    Maree added that the deal between the two banks is premised on how to make money together, not on how to make money out of each other.

    The World Economic Forum on Africa is scheduled to end on Friday. The talks attract over 800 participants from 50 countries.

    Five African leaders have taken part in the meeting, including Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosislili, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, newly-elected South African President Jacob Zuma and his Zambian counterpart Rupiah Bwezani Banda.

    Participants of the forum are seeking practical solutions to foster better business practices and greater investment across the continent.

    The closing plenary session of the platform scheduled for Friday afternoon will highlight the outcomes of the meeting and map out the future engagement of main stakeholders.