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Chinese entities have invested in the finance, energy, communication, manufacturing, transport, and mining sectors, among others. Chinese investments in the sectors may be motivated more by Beijing’s geopolitical interests than commercial considerations.
The South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation spoke positively about bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing, ahead of the BRICS summit of emerging economies that kicked off on Tuesday in Russia.
Ronald Lamola described the relationship between the two nations as based on mutual trust. He further added that South Africa was open to more investment and collaboration. Chinese companies have already invested heavily in South Africa for value-adding to primary goods and beefing up local manufacturing.
China and South Africa established formal diplomatic relations in 1998, four years after the downfall of the Apartheid regime. The relationship between the two countries was upgraded rapidly into a Partnership in 2000, a strategic partnership in 2004, and a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2010.
This paved the way for growing economic ties between the two countries in terms of trade and investments. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner with trade between the two countries reaching US$ 54 billion in 2021 – 21% of the Sino-African trade value. Currently, the value of China’s investments in South Africa has reached US$ 25 billion, creating over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Chinese entities have invested in the finance, energy, communication, manufacturing, transport, and mining sectors, among others. Chinese investments in the sectors may be motivated more by Beijing’s geopolitical interests than commercial considerations.
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The BRICS summit will last until October 24th. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa were initially included in the BRICS alliance. This summit will be the first since the alliance expanded to encompass Egypt, the UAE, Saudia Arabia, Ethiopia, and Iran. Commonly referred to as a counterbalance to the Western-led world, the BRICS nations account for around 35 percent of the global economy. Together, member countries have 45 percent of the world’s population. Many perceive it as the grouping of emerging economies to counterbalance the domination of the Western bloc.
