When Kobus van der Wath, business director of the South Africa-China Business Association (SACBA), came to China several years ago, he knew few people, but he has seen that change dramatically as bilateral trade between the two nations grows at about 50 percent per year.
South African companies are active in mining, media, Internet and technology, consulting and even consumer products in China. Among them are MIH, the media giant that holds shares of Tencent, the largest instant messaging community in China, and SABMiller plc, whose joint venture in China, CR Snow Breweries, is now the largest brewer in China by sales volume.
South Africa is the continent's largest trading partner with China, accounting for one-fifth of the total. Bilateral trade between China and South Africa amounted to $6.3 billion in 2005, up 42.4 percentyear-on-year. China, behind Germany, is the second-largest importer of South African goods.
Of course the Chinese market, with its double-digit growth rate and 1.3 billion population, is appealing to South African investors. Investment volume has surpassed $2 billion as more South African companies have started their business operations.
