| Summary/Abstract |
In 18 years of China–South Africa relations, the two countries have evolved from minimal contact to deep economic engagement fraught with ideological and political uncertainty. The bilateral relationship is increasingly institutionalized on the global and regional level, yet also dogged by domestic criticism among a growing bloc of South Africans who are concerned by what they perceive as neo-colonial influence and an erosion of their democratic ideals. While South African President Jacob Zuma has publicly labeled the bilateral relationship ‘unsustainable’, a recent government document calls the Communist Party of China ‘a guiding lodestar of our own struggle’. This article asks whether South Africa’s leadership has the strength to stand up to an increasingly confident and assertive foreign power on its own soil.
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