S. Africa to open 1st overseas trade office in Nanshan

Li Xiaoye, general manager of Nanshan's Global Service Center, showcases high-tech products from Nanshan companies to South African officials during a tour of Global Service Center yesterday. Photos courtesy of Global Service Center

South Africa will set up a trade and investment facilitation office in Nanshan District to boost mutual investment and trade, officials announced at the South Africa-Shenzhen (Nanshan) Investment Promotion and Partnership Meeting held at Nanshan's Global Service Center yesterday afternoon.

At the meeting, South Africa's Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, and the Global Service Center, backed by the Nanshan District Government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the new office.

(From L) Lester Bouah, chief director of investment promotion for South Africa, Mahdi Basadien, Charge d’Affairs ad interim at the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in China, and Li Xiaoye, general manager of Nanshan's Global Service Center, pose for a photo after the MOU-signing ceremony at Global Service Center yesterday. 

Lester Bouah, chief director of investment promotion for South Africa, said the office is the first the country has opened abroad. It is intended to serve as a gateway for bilateral commercial engagement and accelerate deals and project matchmaking between companies based in South Africa and Shenzhen.

“This is the entrance for Chinese enterprises to tap the African market. We’ve seen the eagerness of people to look for opportunities in areas that we've talked about,” Bouah said, adding that the best way to promote win-win cooperation is for officials and businesspeople to regularly engage with Shenzhen entrepreneurs and invite them to South Africa.

Mahdi Basadien, Charge d’Affairs ad interim at the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in China, said Shenzhen was chosen because of its strategic advantages. "Shenzhen is China’s Silicon Valley and a global innovation hub. We chose to set up the office here because of its comprehensive strengths in technology, industry, and open systems," he said.

The announcement caps a rapid series of exchanges between Nanshan and South African authorities. In April, a Nanshan government delegation visited South Africa’s trade ministry to discuss promoting enterprise expansion, policy alignment, and tariff facilitation, ultimately reaching a number of agreements. Since a July visit by a South African trade delegation, both sides have conducted three rounds of in-depth talks and launched a targeted screening and matching mechanism.

"The whole process only took six months — this is the fastest intergovernmental cooperation I've seen in Africa in more than 20 years," said Zhong Shipeng, executive vice president of the South Africa-Shenzhen General Chamber of Commerce.

Lester Bouah, chief director of investment promotion for South Africa, briefs attendees on the country’s economy and trade landscape during the event.

Officials highlighted South Africa's market potential as a key factor in the push to deepen ties. With roughly 63 million people, a GDP of about US$410 billion, and a youth population of some 31%, South Africa offers dynamic consumer demand and labor resources, according to Bouah. As the gateway to sub-Saharan Africa and a beneficiary of African Continental Free Trade Area rules, the country can serve as a strategic springboard for Chinese firms seeking to access a continent of some 1.5 billion people with roughly US$3.5 trillion in GDP.

The arrangement also builds on an already substantial bilateral economic relationship. Chinese firms have invested more than US$25 billion in South Africa across the manufacturing, mining, energy, and information and communications technology industries, creating over 400,000 local jobs. South African firms have invested about US$8 billion in China.

Both sides said future cooperation will concentrate on emerging strategic areas such as renewable energy, green manufacturing and digital infrastructure, as well as fintech, the digital economy, new energy vehicles, and energy storage.

Nanshan-based companies have been active in pursuing opportunities in South Africa and the broader African market in recent years, investing across manufacturing, mining, energy, and ICT and positioning themselves as important participants in China-South Africa capacity cooperation.