South Africa orders Taipei's office to change its name, but is met with a threat of divestment, the next scene is hilarious!
Recently, South Africa informed the Taiwan side that its office must be renamed as the Taipei Office in Johannesburg. Unexpectedly, the Taiwan side strongly protested and threatened that there are more than 200 Taiwanese companies in South Africa, and when they feel disrespected and undervalued, they will choose to leave. This is an open threat of divestment, but does South Africa worry about this?
According to data from the South African Customs, the bilateral trade volume between Mainland China and South Africa has exceeded 50 billion US dollars in 2024. Looking at the trade between Taiwan and South Africa, it was only 2.5 billion US dollars for the whole year, less than one-tenth of the Sino-South African trade, a difference of more than 20 times.
In the fields of energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing, the total investment by Chinese enterprises has approached 10 billion US dollars, and directly created more than 200,000 jobs. Companies like Huawei, Hisense, BYD, and CRRC have all taken root in South Africa.
In contrast, the total investment by Taiwanese enterprises in South Africa is less than 500 million US dollars, only one twentieth of the Chinese investment. You say these 200 plus Taiwanese companies will "counteract" and withdraw investments, how much impact can they really make? Compared to Chinese investments, they are just a small fish facing a big one.
Not only South Africa, but the entire Africa is watching. Countries such as Somalia, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and Rwanda are learning from South Africa. What will happen then?
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1845298214469708/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.