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South Afirica:Mpahlwa says, “There''s no stopping China” |
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2004-9-21
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Answers are not easy to get when the question is: Is China an opportunity or a threat to South Africa?
“There is no easy answer,” according to Mandisi Mpahlwa, Minister of Trade and Industry.
Speaking at the ninth congress of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers'' Union (Sactwu), Mpahlwa gave the government''s perspective on the challenges and future of the clothing and textile industry in South Africa.
For three days the delegates had grappled with this question in the face of a report by Ebrahim Patel, Sactwu''s general secretary, that 80 000 jobs had been lost in the clothing and textile sector since 1995.
The blame for this was placed squarely on the shoulders of China, whose cheap exports have been flooding the local market.
Mpahlwa said it was widely acknowledged that China, as the fastest-growing economy in the world, had had a major impact on traditional patterns and flows of investment and trade that had been in place for at least 50 years.
Over the past two years the single economy of China had become the leading recipient of foreign direct investment from the rest of the world.
It was well known that China was a global leader in the clothing and textile sector and had harnessed the economies of scale that came with large production runs.
"As the landscape in this sector changes with the elimination of quotas in the US market and we approach the end of agreements designed to protect countries from China, we will soon see a time where it will no longer be possible to protect industries. This may be upon the world within the next decade.
"In looking forward, we have to bear this dynamic in mind - that China''s dominance in the clothing and textiles sector cannot be stopped, blocked or derailed. It is only a matter of time," Mpahlwa said.
He was awaiting a report from a task team comprising the government, labour and business on a structured, integrated and long-term view of the Chinese threat to labour and business, he said.
South Africa had had bilateral discussions with China on the difficulties the country faced, he said, and Beijing''s response had been one of understanding and willingness to seek solutions, which should be in the form of partnerships and joint ventures.
South Africa had secured commitments of investment and technology transfer from China and partnerships with it should leverage third markets such as the EU and the US.
"We cannot seek solutions to the problem China poses for the sector that pit us against what will be the world''s largest economy and market, and deny us the opportunities for our growth and development that lie in trading with China," the minister said. |
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