Chinese Defense Minister Calls for Closer Cooperation with South Africa

An April 2025 file image of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun. Photo by Minh Hoang / POOL / AFP

Dong Jun, China’s Minister of Defense, called for closer military cooperation with South Africa following a meeting with General Rudzani Maphwanya, chief of the South African National Defence Force, in Beijing on Tuesday. Dong said Beijing is ready to work with Pretoria against outside “bullying and hegemony.”

The meeting was Dong’s first public appearance since he skipped the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in late May. While meetings between South African and Chinese defense officials are not rare, this one drew more attention due to Pretoria’s recent tensions with the United States over post-apartheid land restitution laws and the Trump administration’s designation of refugee status to a small group of Afrikaners.

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by CGSP Staff

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