South African business should do more to identify trade opportunities with China, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Friday.
Speaking about the massive trade imbalance between South Africa and China, he said the Chinese were not the only ones to blame as they have often asked South Africa to look at what more could be done.
”It is incumbent on the private sector to exploit opportunities,” he said.
”We have a golden opportunity to increase our exports. We don’t know why the private sector has not identified concrete areas,” Pahad said.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Sunday between Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Beijing.
The trade imbalance is high on the agenda of talks that will focus on economic cooperation between the two countries.
South Africa is China’s key trade partner in Africa, accounting for nearly 21% of the total volume of China-Africa trade.
Last year South African exports amounted to more than R14-billion, with imports reaching more than R46-billion.
China is South Africa’s second largest import trading partner and sixth largest export partner. — Sapa