Semafor published on 21 September 2026 an article titled "South Africa Woos US and China with Platinum" by Alexis Akwagyiram, Tiisetso Motsoeneng, and Sam Mkokeli.
South Africa is the world's leading supplier of platinum and seeking to gain influence with both China and the United States. The US needs it for catalytic converters and defense equipment while China needs it to develop green hydrogen as a form of sustainable energy.
At the political level, the Trump administration continues to alienate South Africa, while China is cultivating the South African government. Washington's criticism of South Africa shows no signs of abating, which risks losing more ground to Beijing in the race to secure access to Pretoria's critical minerals.
