- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the two countries should work together to oppose protectionism
South Africa has added its weight to China's support for the multilateral trade system, as the commodities-reliant economy is buffeted by the tariff war between Beijing and Washington.
In the coastal city of Durban on Friday, Naledi Pandor, South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, told Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi that South Africa would defend multilateral trade rules centred on the World Trade Organisation.
"South Africa is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China in multilateral affairs," she told Wang, who is also China's foreign minister.
Wang echoed the sentiment, saying China and South Africa should work together to "safeguard multilateralism … oppose unilateralism and protectionism".
The two countries should "jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries and strengthen strategic communication and cooperation in international and regional affairs", he said.
Wang's trip is part of a broader diplomatic offensive that last month saw a visit to Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone by Yang Jiechi, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative.
The trips come as China is embroiled in a bruising trade war with the United States that has seen both sides levy tariffs on billions of dollars worth of one another's goods.
Trade war between US and China follows Huawei to Africa
While South Africa is the continent's second-biggest economy, its reliance on commodities has made it vulnerable to fluctuations in global prices induced by the trade conflict, and its currency, the rand, is vulnerable to swings in international markets. In the past few days, the rand has benefited as Washington and Beijing resumed talks and tensions eased.
But the China-US trade conflict has also rippled out into other areas, including 5G technology.
In July, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa voiced his support for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei after the United States added the technology firm to its "entity list", which requires American companies to get approval from the US government before buying equipment from or selling components to the Chinese firm.
Meeting Ramaphosa on Friday, Wang said China and South Africa were key emerging markets, and the two nations should improve mutual trust. China would encourage its companies to invest in the nation, he said.
As part of his trip, Wang promised that China would continue to fund projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing's multibillion-dollar infrastructure development plan to link economies into a China-centred trading network.
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He also reaffirmed China's commitment to helping South Africa to implement a series of initiatives " from promoting industry to green development " agreed to at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing last year.
China has been South Africa's biggest trading partner since 2009, with two-way trade increasing to US$40.6 billion last year, up from US$9.4 billion in 2009, according to South Africa's Ministry of Trade and Industry.
South Africa exports mainly minerals and metals, including iron ore and aluminium, to China, while South Africa imports products such as textiles and light electronics from China.
During his visit to South Africa last year, Xi pledged US$14.7 billion of investments in the country.
But South Africa's value for China goes beyond its economy. Pretoria wields considerable power in the Southern African Development Community, a grouping of 16 states from Lesotho to Tanzania.
South Africa's support on global issues can influence the position of other countries in the bloc.
Apart from trade issues, Beijing is seeking support from African economies to condemn the ongoing protests in Hong Kong and backing for its activities in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.
Although South Africa was not one of them, 15 African countries expressed support earlier this year for "anti-extremist" policies in Xinjiang after some 20 democratic governments expressed their concern about the mass detention of Uygur and other Muslims in the region.
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