Strengthening trade ties: South Africa must evolve beyond a market for Chinese products
South Africa and China have taken a firm step toward strengthening trade ties, with both nations agreeing to speed up efforts to make trade smoother and more efficient.
Image: Sars
South Africa and China have taken a firm step towards strengthening trade relations, with both countries agreeing to accelerate efforts to make trade smoother and more efficient.
This follows a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, and International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) Commissioner Ayabonga Cawe in Pretoria on Wednesday.
China is currently South Africa's largest trading partner, having overtaken the European Union in 2023. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$34.18 billion last year, significantly outpacing the EU's US$1.34 billion in trade with South Africa.
However, despite the growth in trade, experts and economists have raised concerns about an imbalance in the structure of the relationship.
In his weekly letter last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa also noted the need to boost South Africa's manufacturing capacity and increase exports of value-added goods.
"There is an imbalance in the structure of our trade. South Africa exports mainly minerals and agricultural products to China and imports largely manufactured products from China."
Kieswetter also expressed a vision for a partnership that goes beyond South Africa serving merely as a market for Chinese goods, advocating for increased Chinese investment in manufacturing and assembly operations within the country.
'China, as the largest trading partner to South Africa, is ideally suited to strengthen this long-standing relationship. I would like to see the relationship grow not only with South Africa as a marketplace for Chinese products, but as a destination for assembly and manufacturing by Chinese investors. South Africa is also ideally suited as a strategic partner into the rest of Africa.'
Meanwhile, Peng described the relationship as an 'All-Round strategic cooperative partnership for a new era.
'China attaches great importance to developing economic and trade relations between China and South Africa, which in recent years have made great progress. Trade, investment, and personnel exchanges between the two countries have been increasingly strengthened.'
ITAC Commissioner Cawe highlighted concerns about the unstable global trade environment and its impact on supply chains and key markets. He pointed to the risks of rising inventories leading to trade diversion, particularly for a small, open economy like South Africa.
'We remain open to engagement with our Chinese counterparts in securing the participation and co-operation of their exporters and other interested parties in such investigations, as a key trade-related element in our bilateral relationship.'he said.
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