SA reviewing Chinese agreements

The South African government is in the process of unpacking the Comprehensive Strategic Agreement signed with China in 2010 in an effort to determine the real benefits to the country. Ambassador Sisa Ngombane, deputy director general for Asia and the Middle East for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), told delegates at the SA Inc meets China Inc conference that the various agreements were of extreme importance to the country seeing that China was officially South Africa’s biggest trading partner, but that the review of these partnerships and incentive structures were crucial to ensure South Africa received the optimum benefit. “But we are struggling to unpack this strategic document. It is important that we go through this process to really determine what is in it for South Africa,” he said. “We have not torn it apart enough to say this is what the Chinese are bringing to the table that will truly benefit South Africa.” He said while there was no doubt with government that the relationship with China would continue and even grow stronger, it was important to know what the benefits were and not just to sign for the sake of signing. “At the time of signing this document there were still some stumbling blocks especially around the mineral section. Our goal is to get the optimum value for South Africa.” Ngombane said documents needed to be unpacked to have real value otherwise they could just as well lie in a drawer and gather dust. “We are not just involved in politics with China – this is business. It makes economic sense to trade with Beijing. Asia is the future.”