South Africa’s future lies in smart global partnerships

With South Africa on the receiving end of US President Donald Trump’s ill-conceived sanctions, economist Professor Raymond Parsons said SA should navigate hurdles smartly.

Commenting on the eve of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, Parsons described the current situation as “a global roller-coaster year unfolding for many countries”.

SA’s responses to any global shocks should “ultimately lie in building resilience and boosting our economic performance”.

Saying SA would not be bullied, Ramaphosa spoke about the country charting a path “in a world that is rapidly changing”.

The globe Ramaphosa referred to was what he equated to “a multipolar world in which new countries are emerging to play a greater role in global affairs”.

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Clearly emerging is a world in which we should be part of a growing wave determined to deepen multilateralism.

Against this background, we are reminded about who our true global friends are.

Among these are China – the world’s second-largest economy – which has remained SA’s largest trading partner for 16 years. And SA has been China’s top trading partner in Africa for 15 years.

According to Chinese customs statistics, the trade volume between the countries in 2024 reached $52.4 billion (about R970 billion), accounting for about 18% of China-Africa trade.

China’s imports from SA totalled $30.6 billion, with exports to South Africa amounting to $21.81 billion.

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In recent years, China has actively supported SA’s agricultural exports, through the “green channel” for African agricultural products entering Asian economic giant.

The initiative has not only enriched the vegetable basket of Chinese consumers, but also financially boosted South African farmers.

Currently, South Africa is eligible to export 68 types of agricultural and food products to China. These have included citrus, pears, soya beans, avocado, raw wool and dairy products, approved since 2021.

Both sides are now actively working towards granting market access for stone fruits and other local agricultural products.

According to statistics from the China Ministry of Commerce, China’s investment stock in SA exceeds $10 billion, with more than 200 Chinese enterprises operating on a large scale and in a sustainable manner in the country.

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The investments have created over 400 000 local jobs, significantly contributing to South Africa’s economic and social development.

Primary investment sectors include financial services, mineral resource development, home appliance manufacturing, automobile, engineering machinery, telecommunications, real estate development, logistics and textiles.

With strong support from the Chinese embassy in Pretoria, Chinese enterprises in South Africa last April held a successful job recruitment fair, helping to address the country’s unemployment challenge.

More than 70 Chinese enterprises offered over 1 000 jobs, attracting over 2 000 local job seekers.

At the request of the SA government, the Chinese have actively promoted aid projects which benefited people’s livelihoods, including the Poverty Alleviation Model Village and the Vocational Training Centre.

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This demonstrates how far multilateralism can take us. The realignment of progressive forces, bringing an end the narrow political and economic unilateralism, should be the new global mandate.