Russia-South Africa Relations: It's Complicated

 The South African Institute of International Affairs recently posted a 16-minute podcast titled "South Africa and Russia: It's Complicated."

The Russia-China relationship generates uncomfortable headlines today.  It is based on the strong anti-apartheid position of the Soviet Union.  In addition, Vladimir Putin and former South African President Jacob Zuma solidified the ties.

Russia's invasion of Georgia, Crimea, and Ukraine complicated the relationship.  South Africa fell back on a policy of non-alignment.  By 2022, there was confusion in Pretoria concerning policy towards Russia.

Today, South Africa-Russia trade is negligible and Russian investment in the country is modest.  South Africa and Russia, both members of BRICS, agree on the need to revise the world order but not much else.  

China's Vice President Visits South Africa, Strengthens Security Ties

 Otto's Journal, a digital news publication based in New York, posted on 22 March 2026 an article titled "South Africa and China Strengthen Security Ties in 2026 Pretoria Summit" by Thabiso Mkhwanazi.  

South Africa welcomed Chinese Vice President Han Zheng where discussions are expected to prioritize bilateral security cooperation, implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and South Africa's evolving role in a multipolar world as Pretoria navigates a complex relationship with the United States and deepens its ties with BRICS countries.

Naval Exercise Splits BRICS

 Aljazeera published on 23 January 2026 an article titled "Why Is South Africa Upset about Iran Joining BRICS Naval Drills?" by Shola Lawal.

A BRICS naval exercise in South Africa that included 3 warships from Iran as its government crushed protestors at home sparked a sharp rebuke from the United States, prompted internal debates in South Africa, and caused India to point out that BRICS was not established to host war games.  

Fraying of US-South Africa Relations

 The Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies published on 16 January 2026 a policy brief titled "South Africa Eyes Confrontation with Trump over Growing Ties to China, Russia, Iran" by Max Meizlish and Daniel Swift.

South Africa's ANC-led government is testing the limits of cordial relations with the Trump administration by strengthening its ties with China, Russia, and Iran.  

Chinese Involvement with Sensitive Security Project Offends South Africa's Opposition Party

 Defence Web posted on 4 November 2025 an article titled "Chinese Involvement in SA Defence Infrastructure Compared to Projects Kgala and Thusano."

An opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) representative has called out the South African ANC-led government for seeking China's technical help at the sensitive De Brug Army Mobilisation Centre. He charged the Chinese assistance at the clandestine facility lacks transparency and likened it to some earlier technical help from Cuba.   

China and South Africa Oppose US Bullying

 The South China Morning Post published on 10 June 2025 an article titled "China's Defence Chief Dong Jun Backs South Africa against 'Bullying' amid US Tensions" by Enoch Wong. 

South Africa's head of the National Defense Force met in Beijing with the Chinese Defense Minister, Dong Jun, who promised to work with South Africa to oppose bullying, a veiled reference to the United States.  

Communist Party of China Relations with African Political Parties

 The South China Morning Post published on 19 November 2024 an article titled "Do the Communist Party's Ties in Africa Pay Economic Dividends for China?" by Jevans Nyabiage.  

The Communist Party of China has interacted for decades with political parties in Africa.  It is not clear, however, whether closer party-to-party relations are the primary driver for more Chinese investment and funding in an African country.  

Chinese Communist Party Diplomacy in Africa

 Megatrends Afrika published in October 2024 a policy brief titled "Pragmatic, Strategic and Wide-Reaching: The CCP's Party Diplomacy in Africa" by Christine Hackenesch and Julia Bader.  

The policy brief analyses recent patterns and motives of China's party diplomacy in Africa.  It finds that the CCP maintains close ties with the main ruling parties in southern Africa and in some countries in East Africa, while engaging with a broad range of parties in countries in North Africa.  Beijing's party diplomacy in Africa seeks to promote China's core foreign policy interests, advance an alternative narrative on global China, and normalize China's authoritarian system.

Taiwan's Shrinking Footprint in Africa

 The Diplomat published on 30 October 2024 a commentary titled "Taiwan's Shrinking Footprint in Africa Amid Chinese Pressure" by Samir Bhattacharya, India's Observer Research Foundation.

Eswatini is the only country in Africa that recognizes Taiwan rather than China.  China has now pressured South Africa to demand that Taiwan move its "Taipei Liaison Office" from the political capital of Pretoria to the commercial capital of Johannesburg and rename it a trade office.  Taiwan, citing a 1997 agreement with South Africa, is objecting to the demand.  There has been no official, public comment from the US government.  

South Africa's Warmth towards Russia Risks Ties with West

 The Daily Maverick published on 6 October 2024 a commentary titled "Ramaphosa's Russia Flirtation Imperils More than South Africa's Image" by Ray Hartley and Greg Mills, both with the Brenthurst Foundation.

The authors argue that an increasingly cozy relationship between President Cyril Ramaphosa, the African National Congress, and Russia risks South Africa's trade and investment with the West and may even open Pretoria to international legal action.

Senior Chinese Communist Party Official Visits South Africa

 The Daily Maverick published on 4 August 2024 an article titled "Chinese Communist Party Claims Ramaphosa 'Assured that GNU's China Policy Will Not Change'" by Peter Fabricius.

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, visited South Africa last week and was assured by President Cyril Ramaphosa that Pretoria would continue to support China's claim to Taiwan.  South Africa's new coalition government now has partners, the Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party, with less clear positions on Beijing's claim to Taiwan.  

China's New Ambassador Underscores Ties with South Africa

 The South China Morning Post published on 20 June 2024 an article titled "Caliber of China Envoy Wu Peng 'Highlights South Africa's Importance to Beijing'" by Jevans Nyabiage.  

Beijing has appointed its former head of African affairs in the Foreign Ministry, Wu Peng, as its new ambassador to South Africa, underscoring the importance it attaches to its relations with Pretoria.  

South Africa's Freedom Front Plus Deputy Leader Discusses Election & Foreign Policy

 The Hudson Institute posted on May 17, 2024, a conversation between South Africa's deputy leader of the Freedom Front Plus political party, Corne Mulder, and Joshua Meservey.

South Africa's Freedom Front Plus (FF+) political party is one of four in the country that has ten or more seats in Parliament.  It began as an Afrikaner party and subsequently added minority groups across South Africa.  It functions in opposition to the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

At about minute 38, the discussion turns to foreign policy where Mulder provides the FF+ view of the ANC's approach to relations with the West and especially the United States.  He argues that the ANC is hostile to Washington and has fallen under the influence of China, Russia, and Iran.  

South Africa's Inkatha Freedom Party and US-China Competition

 The Hudson Institute posted on 26 April 2024 an hour plus podcast titled "South Africa's Historic Election: A Conversation with Inkatha Freedom Party National Spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa" and Hudson Senior Fellow Joshua Meservey.

The discussion between minute 37 and 1 hour and 2 minutes dealt with US-China competition in Africa and the Inkatha Freedom Party's (IFP) relations with China.  (The IFP is South Africa's fourth largest political party.)  The spokesperson criticized China's lack of transparency but emphasized that China is an economic powerhouse with money.  Hence you have to take it seriously.  He added it is important that South Africa pursue its own interests vis-a-vis both China and the United States, including a concern about human rights.

The IFP interacts with the Dalai Lama and Taiwan, both anathema to China, because of its historical relationship with them.  The Chinese embassy in South Africa has expressed its unhappiness with the IFP.  But the IFP also deals with China on a range of other issues and does not have an antagonistic relationship with China.  The embassy extended a standing invitation to the IFP to visit China and Tibet.  When pressed why African countries, including South Africa, have not been critical of China's policy in Xinjiang, the spokesperson replied that you dare not antagonize Beijing on such issues.  

South Africa's Ruling Party Praises China's Policy in Xinjiang Province

 South Africa's Independent Online (IOL) published on 6 December 2023 an article titled "Lessons from Xinjiang: ANC Says It Is Taking Notes, Following China's Development Footsteps" by Jonisayi Maromo.

A national executive committee member from the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party, said at a seminar on Xinjiang Province hosted by the Chinese embassy that China's ethnic minorities have enjoyed the best years in the last two decades in terms of economic and social development, ethnic unity, culture, education and protection of religious beliefs.  The article sang the praises of China's policies in Xinjiang Province and its treatment of the Uyghur population.  

Comment:  China International Television Corporation and the China Africa Development Fund have a 20 percent ownership stake in Independent Online and many of its South African journalists have been trained in China.  This is one of the ways that China works to ensure favorable coverage of Chinese issues in the African press.  In this regard, the ANC is one of the most compliant African political parties.  

South African Relations with China

 The American Security Project blog posted on 3 October 2023 a commentary titled "Assessing South Africa's Complicated Relationship with China" by Aaron Schwartz.

China has strong trade, investment, political party, military, and strategic ties with South Africa.  The author concludes the relationship "is starting to resemble a new type of colonialism."

South Africa Is a Cheap Date for China

 The Daily Maverick published on 27 August 2023 a commentary titled "South Africa's Strange Obsession with China Is Proof That It's a Cheap Date" by Greg Mills and Ray Hartley.

South Africa has more in common with India than China, but its African National Congress (ANC) government is tripping over itself to align with the latter.  The ANC appears hypnotized by China's ordered, state-led government, which controls civil society.  South Africa is demonstrating that it is a cheap date.  

China-US Competition in Africa

 The New York Times published on 23 August 2023 an article titled "China Tries to Increase Its Clout in Africa Amid Rivalry With the U.S." by David Pierson and Lynsey Chutel.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping sees himself as the leader of the developing world in China's effort to offer an alternative to the US-led global order.  Africa is an emerging battleground for global influence.  

Putin's Cancellation of Visit to BRICS Summit Avoids South African Crisis with US

 The New York Times published on 19 July 2023 an article titled "South Africa Skirts Dilemma After Putin Cancels Visit" by John Eligon.  

The decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to cancel his visit to the BRICS Summit in South Africa and attend by videoconference has removed a potentially damaging issue between Pretoria and Washington following an already strained relationship. 

Comment:  The decision by President Putin also demonstrates that charges leveled by the International Criminal Court can have real world consequences.   

Russia Reportedly Snubs African Peace Delegation

 The Washington Post published on 21 June 2023 an article titled "African Leaders Visited with a Peace Plan, Putin Showed Little Interest" by Robyn Dixon.  

African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa presented a 10-point peace plan for ending the conflict in Ukraine to Presidents Putin and Zelensky.  The delegation received little encouragement from either president but reportedly interpreted Putin's response as a huge snub.