Article
South Africa and the China-Africa Economic Partnerships for Shared Development
Published: 17/07/2025
SA exports include fruits,
wine, red meat, nuts, maize, soybeans, and wool. China is on record as
saying recently that it would want to see an increase in agri imports from SA.
The desire by China to further diversify its import basket is possibly a
factor in this as well. At the same time, SA has been a promoter within BRICS+
policy discussions of the need for increased intra-BRICS+ agricultural trade.
The visit this week by SA’s Deputy President is therefore an opportunity to
take these relations forward. Deputy President Mashatile will undertake a
strategic working visit to the People’s Republic of China from 14 to 18 July
2025 to participate in the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) and
officially launch the South African National Pavilion. The
visit hopes to reinforce South Africa’s position as a gateway to sub-Saharan
Africa for trade, investment, and industrial cooperation. The Deputy President
is being accompanied by the Deputy Minister of International Relations and
Cooperation, Ms Thandi Moraka; the Minister of Small Business Development, Ms
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams; Minister of Tourism, Ms Patricia de Lille; Minister of
Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau; Minister of Water and
Sanitation, Ms Pemmy Majodina; and Minister of Agriculture, Mr John
Steenhuisen. During the working visit, Deputy President Mashatile is scheduled
to hold a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr Han Zheng, Vice President of
the People’s Republic of China. Amongst other objectives, the trip will seek to
enhance bilateral collaboration on clean technologies, digital skills
development, and industrial standards.
To advance agricultural trade between the two
countries, Agbiz collated and submitted to dtic a summary of relevant current
market access issues such as tariffs and non-tariff barriers and areas of
interest to agribusinesses focused on China, including grain, fruit, macadamias,
wine, pork, and pet food exports.
Potential Duty-Free Access to China for South
African Exports
From the Communiques of the Chinese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as well as analysis by Agbiz, the points below can be noted.
Background
Zero-tariff treatment for all tariff lines was
already granted by China to all African Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on 1
December 2024. Now, in June 2025, China announced that it will extend this
treatment to all African countries except eSwatini. eSwatini is excluded
because China does have formal diplomatic relations with it, due to eSwatini’s
diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The announcement by senior Chinese officials
coincided with a meeting of African Foreign Ministers, held to advance implementation
of follow-up actions from the September 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Agbiz attended the 2024 FOCAC Forum as part
of the SA business delegation.
How will this access work?
China has apparently laid out a trade
arrangement, contained in a “Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for
Shared Development”. It appears that these are constructed as a type of modular
Economic Partnership Agreement, and are/will be negotiated with each African
country. More than 20 African countries apparently already signed such
agreements during the June 2025 meetings in China[1]. China notes that:
“This marks a distinct contrast with the U.S. action of imposing tariff wars on
all African countries.”
Zero duty access is not granted immediately.
The sequence to obtain zero duty access is evident in the two statements below:
·
“China will sign agreements on
economic partnership for shared development with African countries, deliver on
the zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, provide more policy
facilitation for the least developed countries in Africa, promote trade and
investment liberalization and facilitation between the two sides, and encourage
more African products to enter the Chinese market” – remarks by H.E. Wang Yim
At the Opening Ceremony Of the Fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo,
June 12, 2025. Underlining added.
·
“China is ready to, through
negotiating and signing the agreement of China-Africa Economic Partnership for
Shared Development, expand the zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff
lines to all 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China, or
all African countries except Eswatini, to welcome quality products from Africa
to the Chinese market.” - China-Africa Changsha Declaration on Upholding
Solidarity and Cooperation of the Global South, 11 June 2025. Underlining
added.
The tariff offer is therefore conditional. A
country must first negotiate and sign a ‘Framework Agreement on Economic
Partnership for Shared Development’ in order to be granted the zero-tariff
access. What is unclear is whether the access will be unilaterally granted,
i.e. along the lines of AGOA, or whether it will entail reciprocity, i.e. along
the lines of the bilateral trade agreement SACU has with the EU or SADC member
states, where both parties reduce their tariffs. There are indications that the
proposed China Framework Agreements on Economic Partnership with SACU (and
presumably other African signatories) would entail a 2nd mandatory stage of
reciprocity, after 10 years. This would then create the dilemma facing SA in similar
future trade agreements, whereby some sectors, e.g. agriculture, would likely
stand to benefit with lower risk and others, e.g. elements of manufacturing,
would likely see less benefit and higher risk.
South Africa, SACU and the ‘Economic
Partnership for Shared Development’ agreements
In any discussions so far with China, the SA
government has no doubt highlighted the SACU agreement, and the SACU
requirement for joint trade negotiations by SACU members with bilateral trade
partners. This means SA cannot sign a bilateral deal with China, neither can
other SACU member states. This is because the SACU states operate a Common
External Tariff (CET). This CET would be compromised and negated if the members
struck different bilateral tariff deals with a common external trade
partner. The same applies to the US
negotiations – the CET must be respected, as it is the bedrock of SACU. This requirement
would mean any bilateral deal would have to include and be applicable to eSwatini.
However, if the offer were unilateral and did
not require SACU members to offer different tariff concessions but merely
granted them access to China, then it would be possible to proceed with a
differentiated deal. Currently the SA
government is engaged in discussions with China to establish clarity on a way
forward, the modalities of such an agreement and how any possible negotiations
could unfold.
Conclusion
·
The
Framework Agreement offer presents a remarkable opportunity for many SA export
sectors, and SA’s agricultural sector is equipped to benefit considerably form
any agreement. However, it is still unclear whether this is a ‘Chinese AGOA’,
i.e. a non-reciprocal arrangement where signatories do not have to offer China
access in turn to their markets. The current trip by the Deputy President may
shed some light on this.
·
It
is unclear how the matter of excluding eSwatini vs the Common External Tariff
of SACU would be resolved in the event of reciprocity.
·
Any
bilateral agreement would impact SA’s economic sectors in significantly
different ways, and this would trigger the need for a process for SA
stakeholder input.
·
In
SACU’s case (and the case of the other African countries who have not
yet signed), the Chinese announcement does not therefore automatically
translate into duty free access to the Chinese market. Current tariffs will
therefore remain in force until any proposed negotiations are concluded.
·
Even
with zero tariffs, there will still be a need for the two sides to discuss some
outstanding phytosanitary barriers that act as an impediment to greater SA agricultural
exports to China, and negotiate and sign protocols for commodities where these
do not yet exist.
By Agbiz Fruit
Desk Manager Wolfe Braude
[1] Communique
on List of the Outcomes of the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the
Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation