South Africa and FOCAC: Enabling a Partnership for Global Economic Governance Beyond the BRICS?

This policy brief examines whether South Africa can utilize its role as co-chair of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to advance its global governance reform agenda. While South Africa seeks to align FOCAC with its broader goals of a just and equitable international order, the author argues that FOCAC is primarily a tool for Sino-African development diplomacy and is unlikely to replace or exceed the strategic global governance role of the BRICS bloc.

• South Africa views its role in global governance as a 'progressive agent for positive change', seeking to transform a system based on uneven power relations into a rules-based order with a fairer distribution of power and resources.
• The relationship between South Africa and China evolved into a 'comprehensive strategic partnership' following President Jacob Zuma's December 2014 state visit, which included agreements on agricultural cooperation, phytosanitary requirements for maize, apples, and dates, and a 5–10 Year Strategic Programme on Cooperation.
• BRICS and FOCAC differ fundamentally in their mandates: BRICS is a coalitional actor focused on redressing global system inequities and creating parallel institutions like the New Development Bank (NDB), whereas FOCAC is a formalization of Sino-African relations focused on development diplomacy.
• South Africa faces diplomatic tensions when its continental obligations conflict with its bloc partnerships, such as the stalemate over UN Security Council reform where South Africa supports the African Ezulwini Consensus (demanding veto rights) while IBSA partners Brazil and India argue for seats without veto rights.
• The author concludes that FOCAC is unlikely to become a platform 'beyond the BRICS' for global governance because it is a continental programme with a specific mandate for development, is implemented bilaterally, and reflects China's pragmatic approach to using larger multilateral platforms for global agenda-setting.
• During its co-chairmanship of FOCAC until 2018, South Africa can practically influence the forum by advocating for the beneficiation of African resources at source, establishing labor and environmental codes, and developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for infrastructure projects.

APA

Naidu, S. (2015). South Africa and FOCAC: Enabling a Partnership for Global Economic Governance Beyond the BRICS? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Policy-Insights-26.pdf

Chicago

Naidu, Sanusha. South Africa and FOCAC: Enabling a Partnership for Global Economic Governance Beyond the BRICS? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Policy-Insights-26.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Naidu |first1=Sanusha |title=South Africa and FOCAC: Enabling a Partnership for Global Economic Governance Beyond the BRICS? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=26 October 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Policy-Insights-26.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naidu2015south, author = {Naidu, Sanusha}, title = {{South Africa and FOCAC: Enabling a Partnership for Global Economic Governance Beyond the BRICS?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Policy-Insights-26.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }