Data from the South African Revenue Services shows that China is South Africa’s largest trading partner over the recent past, maintaining a trade surplus over South Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping
DR JAYA JOSIE
August 2024 will mark a year since President Xi Jinping’s state visit to South Africa. The visit coincided with South Africa hosting the BRICS Summit in which several other countries from the Global South were admitted into the original BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. From Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia; and from the Middle East, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were admitted, enlarging the group to 10 members.
During the state visit, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, noted that although China was South Africa’s biggest global trading partner, the risk of a growing trade imbalance between the two countries would be discussed during bilateral talks between the two leaders.
Almost a year later, both countries are caught up in a different global environment. Data from the South African Revenue Services shows that China is South Africa’s largest trading partner over the recent past, maintaining a trade surplus over South Africa. However, during the past year and in the first five months from January to May 2024, South Africa has recorded a trade surplus with China, of almost R45.19 billion, keeping China as the country’s largest trading partner.
During the first five months of 2024, South Africa recorded R812.34bn in the value of exports and R767.15bn of imports. It seems that in the 2023/24 period and through the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, the trade imbalance between the two is being addressed despite the complex global environment.
The issues of economic development, trade and international relations were key themes addressed during the 20th Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CCP) Third Plenary from July 15 to 18, 2024.
The plenary of the Central Committee of the CCP released a statement where it characterised the global environment as grave and complex and placed the responsibility on the government of China to advance reform and stability at home.
In South Africa, the government of the ANC lost its overall majority in the parliamentary elections in May 2024 and was obliged to form a government of national unity (GNU) that includes former opposition parties.
Perhaps it is fair to say that after Xi’s visit and the BRICS summit, the government of South Africa was also a victim of the grave and complex international environment that was exacerbated by its principled position in the BRICS, the Ukraine conflict and calling for an end to the Israeli invasion of Gaza and defending the Palestinian right to self-determination in the International Court of Justice. In the latter position, South Africa was ably supported by China and, the seriousness that China places on its relationship with South Africa is reflected in the appointment of Ambassador Wu Peng, a senior member of its foreign ministry as China’s new ambassador to South Africa. Wu as the former director general for Africa in China and has the brief of taking the China-South Africa strategic partnership to new heights.
China’s focus on developing and consolidating its strategic partnerships and levels of international co-operation is given prominence in the resolutions of the statement released after the CCP’s Plenary. In its official statement from the plenary, the Political Bureau of CCP, reiterated its commitment to advancing reform and development and reported that progress had been made in several respects despite the difficult international turbulence.
Among other respects, the statement highlighted pursuing the new development philosophy; advancing progress while ensuring stability; implementing the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy in a co-ordinated way; giving full consideration to domestic and international imperatives; ensuring development and security and promoting high-quality development.
There were several other aspects that touched upon reform, socialist democracy and the rule of law, communication and cultural work, people’s well-being and protecting the environment, national security and social stability, national defence, issues on the territories of China, internal party governance and international diplomacy.
Of interest to South Africa in particular and Africa in general will be the statement’s commitment to promoting reform through opening to the rest of the world. Of significance is leveraging China’s huge market and its capacity for expanding co-operation with other countries.
Having been head of China’s Africa desk and the former ambassador to Kenya, Ambassador Wu is ideally suited to take the strategic relationship between the two countries to new heights.
In this regard, the ambassador will have an equally able partner in the new minister of Trade Industry and Cooperation for South Africa, Minister Mpho Parks Tau, who, during the presentation of his ministry’s budget to the newly elected Parliament, reiterated South Africa’s aim to deepen, target and expand its strategic relationships with key partners.
For Tau, expanding and improving South Africa’s export market is recognising that its domestic market is too small and not growing fast enough to sustain the country’s manufacturing-led growth strategy and fiscal constraints have further impeded infrastructure investments. Tau, much like his counterpart, Minister Ronald Lamola in International Relations and Co-operation, is part of the young generation of ministers in the GNU. He was, in the 1980s and 1990s, an anti-apartheid activist in his youth in the Gauteng region and a leader in youth organisations that cost him imprisonment and detention by the apartheid regime. He also served in provincial and national institutions and was an effective mayor of Johannesburg.
In his budget speech, Tau said South Africa was located at the tip of the second fastest growing region in the world and given its unique history and global standing, encouraged a substantial level of exports of wine, citrus, avocados, processed food, mining equipment and automobiles. He pledged to reduce dependence on the small domestic market through new export measures combined with current programmes and improving effectiveness.
The minister promised to expand the export market by leveraging South Africa’s membership in the BRICS, the African Continental Free Trade Area, the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( and the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU.
Tau’s commitment resonates neatly with the statement from the CCP’s Plenary on China’s modernisation strategy in relation to peaceful development and its foreign relations and promoting a human community with a shared future.Tau’s budget speech also implies pursuing an independent policy dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.
Xi’s visit to South Africa was in the context of China pursuing its three global initiatives: Global Development, Global Security and Global Civilisation and its promotion of an equal multipolar world that will be universally beneficial and inclusive.
Since the dawn of a post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa, the country has maintained an independent foreign and trade policy in keeping with its constitutional prescripts and its membership of the UN, the World Trade Organization and other international organisations. In its Plenary statement the CCP too has once again pledged to deepen institutional reforms related to the work of foreign affairs and participate in efforts to lead reform and development of the global governance system.
As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, China is well placed to lead such efforts. During his state visit to South Africa, Xi made a similar commitment to South Africa and Africa. In this regard he was supported by Ramaphosa. During the same time, former Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel signed several agreements with his counterparts from China and spoke eloquently about the long-standing history of solidarity and partnership between the two countries.
In his budget speech, Tau reiterated that he would pursue the groundwork laid by his predecessor, Patel, in particular in the areas of the ease of doing business and reducing red tape in the programmes of the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC). In pursuance of the objective, the DTIC has developed the Companies Amendment Bill that incorporate measures that promote the ease of doing business and the reduction of bureaucratic red tape obstacles.
As indicated in the Plenary statement, China is also undertaking reforms for opening up and perhaps both countries would be able to consolidate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and move it to a higher level.
Josie is an adviser at the China Africa Center, Zhejiang University International Business School, and adjunct professor at the University of the Western Cape and University of Venda