The relationship between China and South Africa has been elevated to an “all-round strategic cooperative partnership for a new era.” This follows a bilateral meeting on Monday between Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Xi Jinping in the run-up to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit.
The elevation signals that South Africa remains a key ally and central to China’s larger engagement in Africa. By “comprehensive” the relationship is framed as omnidirectional and multilayered, covering cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels across political, economic, scientific, and cultural fields. “Strategic” indicates its long-term stability.
The meeting largely dismissed earlier rumors that the relationship between South Africa and China was cooling down. However, key issues remain. A key South African priority was for a more balanced trade relationship at a moment when Xi is likely to promote increased Chinese exports to the continent as China faces economic headwinds.
Instead, Ramaphosa called for a smaller trade deficit and a review of the overall trade relationship, as well as more investment in manufacturing and other forms of job creation. A joint statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry pledged more job creation initiatives close to mineral extraction sites, as well as sharing China’s expertise on rural poverty alleviation.
These wider commitments are included in a series of new agreements signed after the meeting.
Details of New China-South Africa Agreements
- GREEN ENERGY: Both sides expressed the need to expand cooperation on green energy generation, storage, distribution, and transmission. While they agreed to jointly host an energy investment conference, no funding commitments were announced.
- AGRICULTURE: The deals included agreements to deal with sanitary protocols for South African dairy and wool imports to China. This comes as both sides are pushing for increased agricultural imports, with South African avocados set to reach Chinese markets soon.
- INTERNATIONAL REFORM: The two sides pledged to work together on shifting membership of the UN Security Council, reforming the global financial architecture to make it more accessible to African countries, and working together to resolve the ongoing violence in Gaza.
