Bilateral commerce increases 50 percent

When Kobus van der Wath, business director of the South Africa-China Business Association (SACBA), came to China several years ago, he knew few people, but he has seen that change dramatically as bilateral trade between the two nations grows at about 50 percent per year.

South African companies are active in mining, media, Internet and technology, consulting and even consumer products in China. Among them are MIH, the media giant that holds shares of Tencent, the largest instant messaging community in China, and SABMiller plc, whose joint venture in China, CR Snow Breweries, is now the largest brewer in China by sales volume.