The ANC’s treasurer-general, Gwen Ramokgopa, says SA will not use the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Summit and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state visit to China to extend a begging bowl to its largest trading partner but rather to deepen economic ties.
SA maintains a strong and multifaceted relationship with China. Ramokgopa, who is accompanying the SA delegation on the visit in her capacity as an ANC official, said SA’s participation in the China-Africa summit this week would cement these relations with the focus on mutual economic and trade interests.
The ANC delegation will hold bilateral discussions with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), during which they would explain the government of national unity after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came to power three decades ago.
“But [we] will also be communicating the ANC’s policies in terms of the priorities to also encourage our counterpart, the Chinese Communist Party, to support the government as a government of national unity, to understand the outcome of the elections and also to support us in this journey,” Ramokgopa said.
The Ramaphosa-led government has in recent years sought to position itself as a leading voice of the Global South, using its participation in the Brics bloc and the Group of 20 platforms to highlight its international sway.
Pretoria’s move to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine as part of a larger African peace mission and its successful move to bring a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has elicited mixed sentiments from its international partners.
SA’s perceived closeness to China and Russia in the past year placed it in the crosshairs of US legislators, who campaigned for Washington to review its trade relations with SA. US-SA relations have been marked by tension for the past two years, sparked by perceived support for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The US and European governments are conducting an intensive campaign to rally African governments to oppose Moscow’s war in Ukraine. SA has chosen to remain nonaligned.
The tensions between Pretoria and Washington have since subsided somewhat, with both parties acknowledging the mutually beneficial relationship after a series of diplomatic and economic engagements.
Ramokgopa said: “We went to all countries in the world to support our liberation struggle. None was left behind. And there are countries that opted to and there are countries that did not opt to. So China was part of those countries that were with us. And, as Nelson Mandela said, ‘why should we drop our friends?’”
China is not only the largest and most dominant member of the Brics grouping, but also is the largest consumer of SA commodity exports and therefore a key driver of the rand exchange rate.
Total bilateral trade grew from R614bn in 2022 to R692bn in 2023, according to the presidency.
During Ramaphosa’s two-day state visit from Monday, SA and China would sign agreements “aimed at enhancing economic co-operation and the implementation of technical co-operation, particularly in the fields of human settlements, agriculture and science and technology”, the presidency said.
The president will be accompanied by the ministers of international relations & co-operation, science, technology & innovation, human settlements, small business development, trade, industry & competition, electricity & energy, public works & infrastructure, higher education and agriculture.
Ramaphosa will also be joined by the premiers of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, as well as senior government officials, the presidency said.
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