President Cyril Ramaphosa has invited Chinese businesspeople and investors to enter the South African market in various sectors, assuring them that existing problems, particularly the visa regulations and rampant crime, are being addressed.
On Wednesday IOL attended the 2024 South Africa-China Presidential Business Forum hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in conjunction with the China-Africa Development Fund in Beijing.
Here hundreds of South African and Chinese businesspeople networked and negotiated deals. The Forum precedes the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit which will be attended by the majority of African heads of State in Beijing on Thursday.
Ramaphosa told the keen Chinese businesspeople and government officials that he is aware of the flaws in Pretoria’s visa regulations, and the matter is receiving his attention.
“With the new government that has been formed, the government of national unity (GNU) which is an inclusive government where a number of parties are working together for the interest of developing our country, we do believe that it is a new era, just as the strategic partnership that we entered into with China.
“South Africa in many ways becomes more attractive in the sense that the reforms we have embarked upon will be sped up, they are going to be much deeper and much more meaningful and create much clearer, conducive environment for businesses to invest.”
He said as South Africa embarks on this reform process, the government is also pushing for a wider opening up of the economy. On this score, Ramaphosa said new sectors, for instance production of electric vehicles, renewable energy and energy storage, will take priority.
“Yesterday I had the occasion to visit Shenzhen and we were dazzled by the enormous changes that have taken place over a period of 40 years or so. Particularly, we were deeply impressed by going to an electric vehicle manufacturing company. We informed them that as part of our reforms, we are now going to focus on a sector like electric vehicles and that wetted their appetite,” said Ramaphosa.
He said South Africa has further opportunities in infrastructure development, given the wide-scale construction projects in different provinces.
“Our reforms are deep and they are going to be over-arching. We are going to be looking at how we spread our infrastructure layout, and yes, in manufacturing as well, how we address some of the constraints from the red-tape that many investors come across, including things such as making our visa regime a lot better.
“I think that is one of the things that makes businesspeople and Chinese (think twice). We are going to address that so that when you come to South Africa, you come to a place that is much more welcoming, rather than the restrictions currently,” said Ramaphosa to applause from the attendees.
The president emphasised that South Africa and China are “joined at the hip”, and holding hands, the two friendly countries are on different journeys of reform, seeking to repositioning the directions of their economies.
South Africa faces enormous unemployment, and Ramaphosa said the figures of jobless people in the country hovers around a staggering 12 million.
Ramaphosa said the other impediment to investment which will receive his attention is the issue of safety and rampant crime in South Africa.
“We are taking dramatic steps to address this challenge because in the past it has been raised as a constraint for Chinese businesses to invest in South Africa, in as much as a number have invested. Part of our reforms have to do with precisely that – to address criminality and to ensure that Chinese businesses when they invest in South Africa, and bring their people to South Africa, they are safe and confident that they will conduct their businesses in a successful manner.”
The Beijing forum was also addressed by different captains of industry; Ambassador of China to South Africa, Wu Peng; and South Africa’s Ambassador to China, Siyabonga Cwele.
Ramaphosa highlighted that China is currently South Africa’s largest trading partner. He said bilateral trade between China and South Africa increased by a third since 2019.
South Africa exports mainly minerals and agricultural products to China, and imports largely manufactured products from China.
“Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense entered the South African market in 1997. It is now exporting to other countries and the United Kingdom from its Atlantis plant in South Africa. Other Chinese flagship companies, such as ZTE and Huawei Technologies are also expanding their presence in South Africa,” said Ramaphosa.
IOL