South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad has said that business should do more to identify trade opportunities with China. Speaking on the matter of the trade imbalance between South Africa and China, Pahad 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. He said that it was up to the private sector to exploit opportunities, adding that the country had a golden opportunity to increase exports.

The trade imbalance was high on the agenda of talks on economic cooperation between the two countries between Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Beijing. 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.