What to make of South Africa's relationship with China twenty years on

By Wadeisor Rukato

On the 1st of January 2018, South Africa and China celebrated 20 years of diplomatic relations. China is currently South Africa's biggest trading partner, accounting for 18.9 percent of total imports and 11.6 percent of total exports last year. China and South Africa are currently co-chairs of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and the two countries are both BRICS member countries. The apparent strength of South Africa's relationship with China, both politically and economically, is demonstrated across bilateral, continental and multilateral platforms. However, in the context of the CPC's 19th National Congress and considerable political changes taking place in South Africa, it is worthwhile to consider what South Africa's relationship with China may look like during the year ahead, and to highlight some of the key dynamics that may shape it.

A photo shows President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa announcing changes to the cabinet ministers, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, 26 February 2018. [Photo: dfic.cn]

A peek at the past

The history of South Africa's engagement with China has its roots before 1998. As early as the 19th Century, Chinese migrants from Mauritius and the Southern coastal regions of China settled in the British colonies and Boer Republics that existed at the time, drawn to South Africa by the prospects of earning fortunes during the gold and diamond rushes. Soon after this, the flow of Chinese migrants into South Africa was formalized when mining companies in South Africa recruited Chinese labour to work in the mines.

In 1999, five years after the end of Apartheid and a year after the formalisation of South Africa-China diplomatic ties, Nelson Mandela became the first South African head of state to pay a formal visit to Beijing. In the following year, President Thabo Mbeki and Chinese President Jiang Zemin signed the Pretoria Declaration on the Partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa. Among other things, the Declaration committed South Africa and China to a political partnership based on regular dialogue, consultation, and high-level cooperation. It also made provisions for the formation of the South Africa-China Bi-National Commission (BNC), purposed with facilitating regular state-to-state dialogue on different aspects of cooperation between China and South Africa.

Fast forward eighteen years, the interactions between South Africa and China have transformed considerably, largely shaped by factors on the international stage, and at the domestic levels in the respective countries.

Looking Inward

In 2006, while addressing the 14th national congress of the South African Students Congress, Thabo Mbeki warned attendees at the event about the dangers of the unequal, "colonial" relationships between China and African countries. This is despite the fact that the Mbeki Administration maintained a considerably close relationship with China. Under Jacob Zuma's administration, South Africa's relations with China continued to strengthen. President Zuma did, however, echo the same sentiments as his predecessor at the 2012 FOCAC Ministerial Meeting in a comment where he described South Africa-China relations as being "unstable".

Here, he was making particular reference to patterns of unequal exchange between the two countries. This is despite the fact that during Zuma's administration, South Africa's foreign policy was very embracing of increased economic ties with China. In 2011, under Zuma's administration, South Africa was invited by China to be a member of the association of emerging economies then known as BRIC, and now known as BRICS, which was a foreign policy victory for Zuma and an opportune diplomatic act for China. According to Dr Jackie Cilliers, during Zuma's administration "South Africa's high politics [was] avowedly pro-China".

With President Zuma having resigned from office on February 14th, 2017 in what was popularly known as "Zexit," one must consider some of the ways that the transfer of power to Cyril Ramaphosa, the newly elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) and now president of South Africa, might mean for South Africa's foreign policy toward, and relationship with China. As far as his personal statements on China are concerned, Rampahosa has generally appeared favourable toward China and President Xi Jinping. Commenting on President Xi's acclaimed speech at the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF), Ramaphosa remarked on how "President Xi Jinping really took the leadership of the world".

In July of 2015, in his capacity as the deputy president of the Republic of South Africa, Ramaphosa led a delegation on an official visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC). On this visit, Ramaphosa held strategic meetings with top Chinese officials on a range of defining factors for South Africa's bilateral relations with China. Of the key outcomes from this trip were a range of commitments from China to "continue to work with South Africa in implementing the five to ten-year strategic programme of cooperation signed during a visit to China in December 2014." Additional interest in investing in South Africa was shown by Chinese companies. Huawei, for example, committed to providing training opportunities in China for young South Africans.

Ramaphosa has also shown considerable admiration for China's experience with state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform. His 2015 visit to China included a 'South Africa-China State owned enterprises seminar.' According to Ramphosa, the engagement provided an opportunity for South Africa to learn from the successes of China's SOE model. In South Africa, SOE's like Eskom or South African Airways have the potential to play a considerable role in economic transformation and infrastructure development if managed better. China's experience is therefore an important example for South Africa as far as reorienting SOEs to better serve development objectives is concerned. As stated by Ramaphosa, "in working side by side with [South Africa] in forging a capable developmental state, creating work and developing skills, China has become an invaluable companion in the national effort to bring hope and restore dignity to millions of [South African] people."

Looking forward

South Africa's relationship with China appears to have both remained largely consistent and become firmer since the early 2000s. While some would consider this a good thing, it has sometimes put the country in sticky situations. This is particularly in instances where South Africa's commitment to its relationship with China has resulted in incongruities between the foreign policy decisions that are enacted, and the supposed centrality of human rights in South African foreign policy.

Additional controversy arose in South Africa after a 2014 decision by the Department of higher Education to introduce Mandarin as an optional second language in South African primary and secondary schools was ill-received by groups within civil society. For example, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), the largest teachers' trade union in South Africa, vehemently opposed this decision, criticising it as a manifestation of Chinese neocolonialism. What is important to note about what these examples is how they demonstrate the nuances that define how China is perceived by different actors, interest groups and stakeholders in South Africa. It's a reality that should be consistently highlighted and indeed celebrated.

Looking forward, it's clear that across both bilateral and multilateral platforms South Africa and China's strategic relationship has become incredibly strong, with little evidence of potential disruption. Even at the party level, the African National Congress's (ANC) relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has consistently become more deeply embedded. In the context of backlash to the Trump administration's outwardly dismissive attitude toward African countries, maintaining a strong relationship with China is certainly appealing for South Africa, and other African countries.

The Wits University Africa-China Reporting Project held a South-Africa China Dialogue on February 22nd, 2018 in commemoration of the 20-year diplomatic mark for the two countries. In attendance were a range of South Africa-China practitioners, one of whom remarked that the opportunities presented by South Africa's relationship with China are "…not fully appreciated in South Africa" and that "…South Africa [still] needs to tap the huge and dynamic Chinese market." While this may be true, China will remain an important trade and investment partner for South Africa in 2018 and it is unlikely that South Africa's warm foreign policy orientation toward China will change drastically, if at all. That said, it remains to be seen how a potential Cyril Ramphosa administration may or may not look to China for symbolic and economic leadership, considering the domestic and international contexts that will define 2018.

(Wadeisor Rukato graduated from Peking University's Yenching Academy in 2017 with an MA in China Studies. Her research focuses on the relationship between African States and China.)