South African Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau has signed a landmark Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity (CAEPA) with his Chinese counterpart, Minister Wang Wentao.
The agreement, signed on Friday, establishes a foundation for deeper bilateral economic ties, with negotiations for an Early Harvest Agreement targeted for completion by the end of March.
This follow-up pact will grant duty-free access to Chinese markets for South African exported products and facilitate enhanced Chinese investment into South Africa.
The CAEPA framework encompasses key areas: trade cooperation, investment cooperation, new energy cooperation, and multilateral cooperation.
According to the DTIC, the framework accord allows “both parties to proceed in a friendly, pragmatic, and flexible manner” while ensuring consistency with WTO principles and the development objectives of both sides. It aims to provide a “stable and predictable environment for economic cooperation and win-win outcomes”.
Both countries aim to expand bilateral trade, particularly by promoting exports of South African agricultural products and high-value manufactured goods to China. South Africa already ships products such as citrus and rooibos tea to the Chinese market.
“As China-South Africa relations continue to deepen, new opportunities are emerging for South African businesses seeking to enter the Chinese market, particularly in sectors such as mining, agriculture, renewable energy and technology,” Tau said.
China plans to dispatch an inward buying mission to South Africa and has invited participation in the Country Exhibition and Business Exhibition at the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai in November. South Africa has also received an invitation to a steel investment event to showcase opportunities in its steel industry.
South Africa ranks as a major recipient of Chinese investment in Africa and leads African nations in actual investments into China.
Tau highlighted growing investment momentum in both directions.
“We have seen a significant and steady increase in the number of Chinese investments in South Africa, while South African companies are showing a growing interest in investing in the Chinese market. Chinese automotive companies are investing in the South African economy and creating much-needed employment opportunities,” he said.
“We look forward to attracting even more Chinese investment into South Africa and also introducing many South African products into the Chinese market.”
He said CAEPA was intended to enhance the bilateral trade relationship “with a view to finding complementarities in our economies and not to encroach on the sensitivities in our countries”.
Tau added that the countries would negotiate with a view to creating the necessary safeguards built into the agreement to protect South Africa’s industrial capacity.
“We hope that the signing of the framework agreement and the outcomes of our Joint Economic Trade Commission meeting will signal the urgency we attach to growing our bilateral trade and investment relations,” he said.
“Together with the framework agreement, these should provide a strong foundation for a mutually beneficial partnership and for our respective private sectors to do more business together.”
