On 22 October 2026, the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister said South Africa’s bilateral trade with the People’s Republic of China (China) and China’s Zero-Tariff Treatment would give exporters certainty beyond 2028, with safeguards to protect South African industry and jobs. The minister was speaking at the Briefing Reception on China’s Zero-Tariff Treatment (ZTT) to African Countries, hosted in Pretoria.
According to the minister, the government plans to protect South African jobs in an uncertain world by diversifying South Africa’s markets. The minister said predictable market access gave investors the confidence to build production in South Africa.
“That is what we want as a country, not only more trade, but more factories, more processing and more jobs here at home. Today’s gathering, which is a briefing reception on China, is also aimed at raising awareness of the tariff measure and providing a structured platform to address questions from South African businesses,” the minister said.
The minister said that the ZTT policy for South Africa meant China was implementing a unilateral preference scheme that granted duty-free market access for 100% of products, except 47 tariff lines subject to tariff rate quotas.
“This was announced by President Xi on 14 February 2026 in his congratulatory message to the African Union Summit. South African products that meet the rules of origin can enter the Chinese market duty-free. From 01 June 2026 to 31 August 2026, SARS has issued 25,975 Certificates of Origin (CoO). Customs declarations rose by 199%. Our export-promotion programme with China is moving beyond individual events. We intend to use a series of strategic trade fairs, targeted outward selling missions, hosted buyer missions and direct business-to-business engagements to advance clearly identified commercial opportunities,” the minister said.
The minister said that South Africa was in the final stages of negotiating the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development. The agreement will allow South Africa and China to negotiate Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements covering trade, investment, infrastructure and logistics, small businesses and industrial development.
“It also forms the basis for negotiation of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)-China Early Harvest Arrangement. The reciprocal trade arrangement between SACU and China is currently under negotiation, which is meant to preserve the zero-tariff arrangement for the long term for SACU countries,” the minister said.