President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State Visit in 2024 was hosted by President of China, Xi Jinping, at a prestigious ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Image: Presidency
As numerous countries across the world grapple with the reality of lingering heavy tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump, a renowned international relations expert says the People’s Republic of China offers a strong alternative partner.
IOL has reported that the rand recovered instantaneously on Wednesday night after suffering a near record low earlier in the day after Trump announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs, which hammered global markets and raised the odds of recession.
Trump on Wednesday gave all countries a 10% baseline, except for China which will see even higher levies at 125%, saying that more than 75 countries had asked for negotiations over the hefty tariffs.
While South Africa breathes a sigh of relief, with the 90-day pause on the sweeping tariffs, Professor David Monyae director for the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the standoff with China still has a negative impact across the world.
“It is part of his (Trump) plan, but it is quite misplaced. This is the man, for the last 40 years, who has been thinking of doing precisely what is going on now. It has brought quite a lot of confusion on the market. It has weakened his hand greatly.
“However, the tension with China has a huge implication, given the fact that these two countries are global economies number one and two. It has huge implications for the entire system that we know, globalisation, issues of rules, the WTO (World Trade Organization), the G20 … we are up for a rocky four years of his rule,” Monyae told the television news channel.
He said during Trump’s first stay in the White House, the tension was targeted at China, but now it has been extended widely to include the European Union and other nations.
For South Africa, the renowned international relations expert recommended intensifying trade with Beijing and diversifying to other markets including in Africa.
“At the moment, it (China) remains the only game in town. Everyone else is also going to China, but the lessons we have learnt is not to put all our eggs in one basket. I think we need to also expand into Japan, other Asian markets and Latin America.
“I think we have the G7 countries, Europe is still an important market for us. However, China is still an important market,” said Monyae.
Professor David Monyae, director for the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg
Image: Supplied
“The question is what kind of goods do we have, how competitive are we, turning around the raw materials that we continue selling into finished goods so that they are competitive, and we ensure that the Chinese also invest on our markets. I think they need to buy more of our products.”
As China expands the supply of new vehicles to South Africa, Monyae said Beijing should also ensure that it buys many components like leather seats and other components from South Africa.
IOL previously reported that since the announced substantial import tariffs by Trump last week, described by critics as 'Liberation Day', the rand had plummeted more than 5% against the greenback.
The rand reached its record low at the height of uncertainty during the Covid-19 crisis as investors pulled back on all risk positions and also traded within a whisker of the R20 to the US dollar in June 2023 when the US Ambassador falsely accused South Africa of supplying arms to Russia.
The US had earlier announced that it would impose a 104% tariff on Chinese goods from Thursday, and China also announced an additional 50% tariffs on US goods to be implemented the same day, taking the tariffs up to 84%.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL
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