As China`s president, Xi Jinping, attends the BRICS summit this week, the bilateral relationship between South Africa and its largest trading partner is expected to grow. In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa notes the strength of this relationship and commits to working closely with China.
Dear fellow South Africans
This year marks 25 years of diplomatic ties between South Africa and the People`s Republic of China. Our bilateral relationship with our largest trading partner is almost as old as our democracy.
On Tuesday, we will receive Chinese President Xi Jinping on his fourth state visit to South Africa. President Xi will also participate in the 15th BRICS Summit, being hosted in Johannesburg.
In addition to a number of structured bilateral mechanisms, South Africa and China collaborate on international strategic platforms, such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation or FOCAC, BRICS, the G20, the G77 plus China alliance, and others.
Relations between the two countries is underpinned by a 10-Year Strategic Programme of Cooperation (2020-2029). President Xi`s visit is an opportunity to assess progress in the areas of cooperation and identify ways of deepening collaboration.
Cooperation and collaboration with China
Energy cooperation between South Africa and China is a focus area that holds great promise. In June this year, companies from both countries participated in a New Energy Investment and Cooperation Conference, which looked at opportunities for collaboration in the green economy, the just energy transition and on the transfer of science and technology.
There are already around 200 Chinese companies operating in this area in South Africa.
South Africa has a great deal to learn from China`s development path. Among other achievements, China has lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty over a 40-year period. According to World Bank data, through this China has contributed close to three quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty.
As partners in development, China and South Africa have long shared a common understanding that trade and investment are the foremost catalysts for improving the living standards of our respective peoples.
South Africa is eager to deepen its collaboration within the frameworks of China`s common prosperity doctrine and strategy and our own National Development Plan and Economic Reconstruction and

Development Plan. South Africa is also keen to harness the developmental potential of China`s Belt and Road Initiative, announced by President Xi in 2013.
We are actively collaborating on the design and implementation of poverty alleviation strategies aligned with our respective developmental visions, as well as on women and youth empowerment.
As South Africa, we want to address the trade deficit between South Africa and China.
Tourism and trade
Bilateral trade with China has grown exponentially, from less than R1 billion in 1998 to more than R614 billion in 2022. We hope to use this state visit to discuss how to narrow the significant trade deficit that exists in China`s favour, mainly through facilitating greater entry of value-added South African goods, products and services into the Chinese market.
Tourism promotion is another area of cooperation. With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, China is an important source for tourism. It is significant that the number of visitors from China in June 2023 was four times higher than the same time last year.
South African tourism expects that inbound Chinese tourism will recover to pre-Covid-19 levels by 2026. We will be actively promoting our country as a tourism destination for Chinese tourists at the China International Import Expo, China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and others. It is encouraging that direct flights between South Africa and China are increasing.
In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20 group of countries, and we are encouraged by China`s support for our presidency. Our collaboration with China in international affairs and on multilateral platforms is underpinned by a commitment to the transformation of global governance institutions to make them more inclusive and to give more developing economy countries a voice.
We are encouraged by China`s ongoing commitment to supporting African countries to meet the aspirations contained in the African Union`s Agenda 2063, and to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
As we mark this significant milestone in South Africa-China relations, our country stands ready to work closely with the government and people of China towards a shared future of meaningful and mutual benefit. V.4939

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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