President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday told Chinese President Xi Jinping he wanted to narrow his country’s trade deficit with Beijing, days before Xi is due to urge a summit of 50 African nations to buy more Chinese goods.
Ramaphosa’s remarks point to the challenge Xi may have in convincing African leaders gathered in Beijing to absorb more of the production powerhouse’s wares, particularly after China did not meet a pledge from the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Summit in 2021 to buy $300bn (R5.3-trillion) worth of African goods.
“We urge for more sustainable manufacturing and job-creating investments,” said Ramaphosa.
With Western curbs on Chinese exports such as solar panels and electric vehicles looming, finding buyers for items in which the US and EU maintain Beijing has overcapacity is a priority for the Chinese leader.
“SA would like to narrow the trade deficit and address the structure of our trade,” Ramaphosa told his host during talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. “We urge for more sustainable manufacturing and job-creating investments,” Ramaphosa said before the ninth Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Summit.
SA, which cofounded the Brics group of developing economies along with Brazil, Russia, India and China is also seeking Beijing’s backing to help it move on from more than a decade of economic stagnation by building up its infrastructure.
Signalling that China would be willing to help SA put an end to persistent power cuts, poor port processing and sub-par railways that have throttled economic growth, Xi proposed elevating bilateral ties to the level of a “new era of all-round strategic partnership”, Chinese state media reported.
Michelle Gumede reports from Beijing that eight memorandums of understanding, which are meant to foster more equitable trade between the states, were signed by SA ministers of agriculture, science & technology, and trade alongside their Chinese counterparts.
According to the SA Revenue Service, the country’s trade deficit with China totalled R9.4bn, an improvement from the prior year’s R24.4bn trade deficit. China, the US and EU are among the country’s largest trade partners and Ramaphosa on Monday reaffirmed the continued socioeconomic ties between SA and China.
Trade & industry minister Parks Tau said it was important for SA to pursue manufactured goods for export, rather than primary goods, which make up the bulk of what SA trades with China.
“For us, its important to be able to find an agreement on the electric vehicle sector but also to increase the quality of trade,” Tau told Business Day. “Our attitude has been let’s form a co-operative relationship with a country such as China, and where there are gaps, we find improvements.”
Tau said that in meetings with his Chinese counterpart stakeholders agreed to increase the range and volume of manufactured goods to be sent to China, a move set to bolster SA’s exports.
“There’s been an in-principle agreement to add a number of goods, currently 98, mainly manufactured goods over and above the primary goods that we can add to the trade basket with China.”
In a joint statement, China said it “firmly supports” national unity and the path of economic and social development that SA has chosen, highlighting that SA had also pledged support for China.
Both sides agreed to work on strengthening co-operation and synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and SA’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, saying they would also commit to creating stable, fair and enabling environments for companies from either side to grow.
“As history demands, SA will continue to pursue progressive internationalism,” said Ramaphosa. “We remain committed to the One China policy.
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