Johannesburg - Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor, was affectionately described by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “my friend” during his recent visit to the country, but the camaraderie between South Africa and China would seem to trump any other bond.
Blinken was full of praise for Pandor, and reflected on renewing the partnership and several liaisons between their two countries before the break brought on by the Trump administration.
Prior to the arrival of Blinken, international relations and co-operation’s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, briefed Parliament’s international relations and co-operation portfolio committee on the bilateral relationship between South Africa and China since formal relations began in 1998. This relationship, he said, was underpinned by a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement penned in 2010.
In line with South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP), Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (ERRP) and the comprehensive strategic partnership, the areas prioritised in South Africa-China bilateral relations were economic transformation in science and technology, the ocean’s economy, agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure, industrial capacity development and strengthening trade and investment relations.
Monyela said tourism numbers from China to South Africa had dropped, from 97 271 in 2017, to 6 577 in 2021. The decline had been mainly because of the Covid-19 restrictions.
However, not all was rosy with the relationship. Monyela told the committee that among other things, the trade deficit between South Africa and China needed to be addressed and, more importantly, there was the question of whether the department, in co-operation with the Department of Labour, would address complaints received from employees of Chinese companies in South Africa about these companies reportedly violating South Africa’s labour laws.
Questions were also raised about the stance of the department, and that of Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel, regarding South Africa processing raw materials and exporting finished products, as opposed to exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. There was also a question on whether there was an agreement in place to ensure China confirmed the copper or steel it bought had not been stolen in South Africa.
Cosying up to Blinken, Pandor said South Africa is the largest US trade partner in Africa. US foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa was valued at $7.8 billion (R116bn) in 2019, a 6.8% increase from 2018. US direct investment in South Africa is led by manufacturing, finance, insurance and wholesale trade. South Africa's FDI in the United States was valued at $4.1bn in 2019 (R59bn), up 1.2% from 2018.
According to SA Tourism figures, for the period January–April this year, tourist arrivals from North America went up by 414.6% (16 838). In North America, the US has recorded the highest increase in volume to 43 700 (459,8%).
Blinken did not miss a beat in alluding to the warm relationship with his counterpart, Pandor.
He reminded guests at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa Campus that in 1956, 156 activists were rounded up for rallying in support of the Freedom Charter, a document that claimed South Africa belonged to its people.
“When the Treason Trial began here in Pretoria, the accused included one of the Charter’s drafters, Professor ZK Matthews, and a rising ANC activist, Joe Matthews – father and son, and grandfather and father to the woman who today serves as South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Dr Naledi Pandor," Blinken said.
“And maybe just as important for this audience, that ‘Doctor’ before the minister’s name was earned here at the University of Pretoria,” he noted.
Blinken also remarked on the achievements of other South Africans, including the recent triumphs of Banyana Banyana, the Springboks, the enduring musical influences of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, the new sway of amapiano, and DJ Black Coffee, who recently took home a Grammy.
Blinken said US strategy was rooted in the recognition that sub-Saharan Africa is a major geopolitical force, one that shaped the past, is shaping the present and will shape the future. It was a strategy that reflected the region’s complexity – its diversity, its power and influence – and one that focused on what the US will do with African nations and peoples, not for African nations and peoples.
Reciprocating, Pandor, said: “Welcome to the University of Pretoria, I think I earned my stripes and I’m able to say that.” Pandor received a doctorate in education from UP in April 2019.
But despite the obviously friendly relations between Blinken and Pandor, South Africa’s position on China, as stated prior to the US visit, suggests playing the field is the way the country plans to go.
Monyela reminded the portfolio committee that bilateral relations with China are based on four pillars:
- Political bilateral relations and multilateral co-operation (Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) and Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS);
- Economic trade, investment, and tourism;
- Technical co-operation; and,
- People-to-people relations.
In this regard, the structure and mechanisms that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation wanted to encourage were, to ensure alignment with the government's frameworks, such as the National Development Plan (NDP); the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP); and, to contribute to the achievement of South Africa's domestic economic imperatives.
The department’ chief director for Central, South and South-East Asia, Sindiswa Mququ, said trade with China had increased from R367.3bn in 2017, to R544.3bn in 2021. However, there was a trade deficit in favour of China because of South Africa’s exporting of commodities as opposed to value-added goods. The trade deficit was also affected by market access and trade barriers in China.
According to the foreign direct investment (FDI) markets, between January 2003 and January 2021, 68 Chinese companies had invested R124bn in South Africa, including 92 projects, leading to the creation of 5 694 jobs during this period. The challenges faced with the investments resulted from Chinese companies adhering to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and other local legislation, including labour laws. There was also no full transfer-of-skills projects from the jobs created.
Darren Bergman (DA) said many democratic governments in Africa believed there was a loss in their party membership because of its support or openness to accept “bilateral trade with China”.
Deliberations focused on how much of Africa’s bilateral trade with China, as exemplified by Zimbabwe and Botswana, were solely monetary transactions, and if a country defaulted on payments, China would become a partner or an owner of the associated resources.
ANC MP Bekizwe Nkosi, speaking on the trade imbalance between South Africa and China, asked if anything was being done to encourage the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to ensure South Africa was able to produce its own goods.
On the issue of bilateral trade, it was suggested the committee sit with their trade, industry and competition portfolio committee counterparts to discuss trade in Asia and East-Asia.
In light of the recent visit by Blinken, the department’s stance is clear: Keep your friends closer, China!