Despite public contempt for counterfeit goods, Chinese wholesalers at Dragon City on the western outskirts of Johannesburg advertise an ”Oriental Price Extravaganza” that is nothing like the real thing. Dragon City is the springboard from which huge shipments of cheap Chinese-imported goods make their way to the pavements and fleamarkets of of South African cities.
The Chinese traders are the first node in a migrants’ trading line. They sell to entrepreneurs from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia and Ethiopia.
Hawkers buy most of their goods in bulk at wholesale prices and sell them on with ridiculously low price tags. There are stylish ladies’ sandals for R25 a pair and swanky blouses, the price of which can plummet to as low as R10 if you are a regular customer.
Accessories such as hairpieces and jewellery are bestsellers and there is a wide range of men’s clothing. A pair of men’s sneakers can be snapped up for a mere R90, and kids takkies for just R50.
Unobservant buyers might be led to believe they are getting a bargain price on a pair of Reeboks and it might take a few days before they notice that the logo actually reads Redbook. A range of electrical appliances that appear identical to big-name brands bear names such as Harwa, Ecco, and Shine.
Chinese wholesale goods are generally less than half the price of those in big retail stores and can be even cheaper if items are bought in bulk.
Huge, bustling wholesale centres in Bruma’s Oriental City and Dragon City in Crown Mines seem to belie Chinese dealers’ complaints about ”slow business” in South Africa.
Shirley, a storeowner at Dragon City, says South Africa is a good country but the crime rate is a great concern and Chinese merchants are targeted by criminals.”There is always danger for Chinese here. Even the police are after us looking for money all the time,” she says, adding that most stores in the centre close at 3pm beacuse of security concerns. Shirley says business is better in China because South African people do not buy every day. ”My business is suffering because people come here every day to look, touch and talk. They never buy,” Shirley says. She gestures at her stock of ”Proudly South African” caps and scarves: ”I only deal with quality material, this is not fong kong,” she adds with a wide grin, patting the dust off the hats.
Mrs Wan sells ”mink” blankets and says business is good because of the cold weather, but she does not know what she will sell when the season ends. She counts herself lucky not to have fallen victim to Johannesburg’s crime. ”Business is good today and bad tomorrow. That’s how it is here, but we survive.”
The Dragon City centre manager, Angelique Schultz, says Chinese dealers used to sell counterfeit goods but have stopped.
She says the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Scorpions raided the centre last year and closed it down for two days after they found that many of the businesses were not registered. ”We did not know that our clients were producing counterfeit material until officials from Adidas came to notify us about the unofficial use of their three-stripes brand,” says Schultz. ”Our only problem is ignorance. If everybody, including the Chinese, can get information about the importance of branding, we won’t have these problems,” she adds.
The influence of China on the South African clothing and textile industry is not limited to the level of wholesale, but reaches deep into the mainstream market. It is no mean feat trying to find products in South Africa’s retail stores that are not imported from China. At the Mr Price store we visited in Johannesburg, most of the merchandise bore the legend ”Made in China”. The same applies to many of the toys sold in South Africa. Staffers at a Roodeport branch of Toys ”R” us confirmed that all their toys are imported from China.
You can also forget about worker solidarity or other communist principles — the conditions at Dragon City are as bad as those in the notorious Chinese manufacturing hubs, and scant regard is paid to South Africa’s strict labour laws. Most of the workers in these stores are African youths from across the subcontinent, including a few cynical South Africans from the surrounding townships. General workers say they earn a maximum of R250 per week if they are South African and are expected to report for work seven days a week, ”there is no off”, while delivery truck drivers earn R80 a day.
Bheki Zondo (29) from Diepkloof, Soweto, says while he is not satisfied, his job as a driver beats hanging around the township doing nothing. Although he has to work hard for his meagre earnings at least, he says, he no longer has to ask anyone for money.
Africans from other countries earn as little as R20 a day and locals complain that the foreigners drive wages down and teach the Chinese to be stubborn. ”We are being ripped off every day, but we can’t stay at home and do nothing because we need the money,” says Norman Selekwe (27) from Rustenburg. ”Most of us come here to pass time while we are looking for other opportunities outside. I mean, how could you expect these people to pay good, they are selling cheap fong kongs?” he asks.
Zhing Zhongs pinch Zim economy
Last year amid much fanfare, Zimbabwe bought two MA60 aircraft from China as the first evidence of its vaunted Look East Policy.
Like the policy, the two planes are now grounded. They developed mechanical problems, but with spare parts only available from the United States (don’t ask), they are now useless. They always were, claims Stanley Gama, a regular business traveller. ”The planes were bumpy, noisy and very uncomfortable. I never wanted to travel with them again,” he says.
From the airport into the capital Harare, there is a strong and growing Chinese presence. An influx of Chinese shops selling cheap goods targeting the lower end of the market dominates the central business district.
Chinese products are now a source of irritation to Zimbabweans who call them Zhing Zhongs for their poor quality and short lifespan. Despite this, local industry is fighting a losing battle, as soaring poverty levels force the public to go for cheap goods. Chinese goods have crowded out the local industry, prompting concerns for government intervention. ”They have awakened the local industry to competition,” says David Mupamhadzi, an economist with Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group. Local industry has been pushing the government to ”protect potential areas for domestic investment,” he says.
Increasingly isolated, President Robert Mugabe last year introduced the Look East Policy to tap into the riches of Eastern success, particularly that of China. In search of aid without attachments, he looked East to liberation-era allies. Last year, he signed a number of deals with the Chinese, as did his deputy Joyce Mujuru last week.
She told the Chinese that Zimbabwe ”had no greenback or Euro, but we have minerals in abundance.”
China is a wily foreign affairs player and until now, Mugabe has secured little in the way of foreign funds. ”We have nothing to show for our Look East Policy,” says Eric Bloch, an economic consultant.
The Chinese will be mining Chrome in the western part of Zimbabwe, providing $60-million worth of broadcasting transmitters and rebuilding a thermal power station at Hwange Colliery mine. — Godwin Gandu