CAPE TOWN - South Africa has signed a deal with Chinese company Yingli Solar to build a $435 million manufacturing plant with a local partner, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

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Nelisiwe Magubane, director general at South Africa's department of energy, told Reuters on the sidelines of a visit by China's vice president that Yingli would partner with a local company and aimed to start building the plant within 12 months.

Magubane on Wednesday also signed an agreement, witnessed by Vice President Xi Jinping, between South Africa and the China Development Bank on broad ranging energy cooperation.

"We have a memorandum of understanding on various projects... and this allows them the opportunity to invest in other's energy infrastructure projects," Magubane said, adding that no specific funds were discussed yet.

Yingli is on track for about a 10 percent share of the US solar modules market by volume this year, and if it meets forecasts, would vault the company among the top US suppliers.