South Africans who say “I don’t buy Chinese products” are in for a big surprise

Many South Africans are either ill-informed or lying to themselves when they proclaim they stay away from Chinese products.

In recent weeks, MyBroadband has frequently noticed comments criticising Chinese cars and smartphones, with several readers commenting they would “never buy Chinese products.”

The reality is that most South Africans have already bought or actively consume Chinese products daily, as the country’s goods and services have proliferated across several industries in recent years.

China has long been South Africa’s biggest trade partner, but there have been mounting concerns about how one-sided this relationship has become.

According to a Quantec analysis, the value of goods imported from China to South Africa reached $21.9 billion in 2023, while goods exported from South Africa to China stood at $12.2 billion.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has pointed out that the trade deficit has grown substantially over the years, to South Africa’s detriment.

The ISS called for protectionist measures, including tariffs and quotas on Chinese imports that directly compete with local products, as well as import substitution policies.

“These could include incentivising investors and supporting local entrepreneurs to develop industries that produce goods currently imported from China.”

The ISS said that importing manufactured goods, particularly clothing, electronics, and other consumer products, crowded out South African industries.

China has long been a manufacturing powerhouse, but this was initially primarily for high-volume, low-value products like toys and small electronics.

In recent years, it has grown its production capability in more “advanced” product categories, such as vehicles.

For example, sales of Chinese cars in South Africa increased by 645% between 2018 and 2023 and continued to grow in 2024.

While China’s share of the new car market expanded substantially, it was still only at 7% in 2023. There are several other industries where the country’s products are even more dominant in South Africa.

Solar boom benefits China

If you have a home solar or backup power system in recent years, you have more than likely bought a Chinese product.

China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels, inverters, and batteries. It is also the primary source of this hardware for South Africa.

The country benefits from vast deposits and a well-established refinery industry for critical minerals used in batteries and panels, including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths.

Batteries are the only component of alternative energy systems for which there are a few local manufacturers, although they also source cells from China.

The table below shows the most popular solar equipment brands in South Africa and where they originate from.

Cellphone tower equipment and smartphones

If you have access to a mobile network or a smartphone in South Africa, you are likely using a Chinese product in some way.

All four of South Africa’s mobile operators use at least one Chinese vendor for their radio access network hardware.

The mobile network equipment vendor space was a largely Scandinavian affair in its early years in South Africa.

However, Huawei and ZTE made substantial inroads in the market since establishing their South African offices in the late 1990s.

According to research from Omdia, Huawei held a 31.3% share of the global radio access network (RAN) market. Excluding its home market of China, it is still the third biggest provider of this equipment.

Chinese-made devices also account for most smartphones sold in South Africa each year. That includes devices from Chinese brands like Honor, Tecno, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Itel.

Even US tech giant Apple’s iPhones are primarily assembled in China. The only major firm that makes its smartphones elsewhere is Samsung.

The table below summarises the network vendors used by South Africa’s cellular infrastructure providers and their countries of origin.