SOUTH AFRICA SIGNS TEXTILE, NUCLEAR ENERGY AND COAL FUEL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 002654 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EB/TPP/ABT, AF/EPS, AF/S COMMERCE FOR ITA/OTEXA/MD'ANDREA COMMERCE ALSO FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN AND AHEYLIGER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON KTEX SF CH SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA SIGNS TEXTILE, NUCLEAR ENERGY AND COAL FUEL AGREEMENTS WITH CHINA REF: PRETORIA 678 ¶1. (U) Summary. Leading a delegation of government officials and business leaders, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited South Africa June 21-22, 2006. The Chinese visit was part of a seven-country tour of Africa intended to strengthen China's diplomatic ties, ensure robust trade, and secure its access to a variety of natural resources from the continent. Jiabao and South African President Thabo Mbeki initialed a textile MoU, containing import limitations on 31 textile and apparel categories until 2008. Jiabao also witnessed agreements between several Chinese companies and Sasol to investigate building at least 2 coal-to-liquid fuel plants. In addition, China and South Africa signed a pact to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear technology. With details sketchy, it is difficult to judge the value of the new agreements. Septel covers political aspects of the visit. End summary. -------------- STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP SOUGHT -------------- ¶2. (U) On June 21 2006, South Africa and China initialed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote trade and economic co-operation. This MoU forms part of a package of agreements signed to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between the two countries and provides for technical assistance, investment and trade promotion, and customs cooperation. Other agreements cover a variety of fields including agriculture, health, defense, transportation, arts and culture, and cooperation in science and technology. -------------- CHINA AGREES TO LIMIT TEXTILE IMPORTS -------------- ¶3. (U) The textile MOU includes import limitations on 31 apparel and textile product categories until the end of 2008. The South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) could not provide concrete detail regarding the specific product categories identified. The DTI said in a statement that more detail on the agreement will only be made available once it comes into force, and that legal procedures still needed to be completed. ¶4. (U) As reported reftel, the South African clothing and textile sector has experienced severe pressures partly as a result of rising imports from China. Imports currently account for 30 percent of the South African clothing and textiles market. Of this, China supplies more than three-fourths of the clothing and less than one-fourth of the textiles. The following table shows China's share of the South African 2005 import market for apparel and textiles. Chinese Import Market Share South African Market % of total imports Apparel: Volume: 386 million units 87% Value: $560 million* 74% Textiles: Volume: 74,368 ton 22% Value: $248 million* 24% Source: The Textile Federation of South Africa (Texfed) for the period January 2005 to December 2005. *Note: Assuming a rand/dollar exchange rate of 6.35. ¶5. (U) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his willingness to restrict textile exports and enhance South Africa's own capacity in textile production. The Premier stated that China would be willing to cap its textile exports to South Africa at two-thirds its current level through 2008, though precise export limits for each of the 100 product lines covered by the textile agreement would be decided through bilateral negotiations over the next several months. -------------- -------------- TEXTILE UNIONS WELCOME MOU; BUSINESS AWAITS DETAILS -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) Reactions to the announced import limitations were mixed. The South African Clothing and Textile workers Union hailed the MOU PRETORIA 00002654 002 OF 002 as a chance to rebuild the local clothing and textile industry and to restore the 63,000 jobs lost in the industry during the past three years. Industry representatives welcomed the agreement but nevertheless felt that the real value could only be judged when more detail becomes available. An independent consultant described it as "too little to late". However, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka welcomed the understanding reached on textile trade, describing it as a unique deal proving the Chinese willingness to walk the extra mile. ¶7. (U) If the terms are as sweeping as those pledged by the Chinese delegation last week, industry representatives state that they will invest in both new factory technology and in training for workers to regain a competitive edge in delivery speed, defect rates, inventory holdings, and production flexibility. A South African textile worker earns, on average, 3.5 times the wage of her Indian counterpart and 57 percent more than a comparable Chinese worker, according to data supplied by the Financial Mail. The decline of the industry since the mid-1990s can be attributed to slow adoption to modern technology, the relatively strong rand in recent years, small target markets, and the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement as well as increased foreign competition. -------------- NUCLEAR COOPERATION -------------- ¶8. (U) China and South Africa also signed a pact to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Key cooperative areas include the mining and supply of uranium ore; sharing power reactor operations techniques and components for use in the Koeburg Power Station; joint development of nuclear reactors, with possible cooperation in the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Program (PBMR); and exchange of personnel in the nuclear field. ¶9. (SBU) With electricity demands growing to challenging levels, especially in the Western Cape Province, the South African Government is supporting ambitious plans to bulk up the power grid, including adding another conventional nuclear power station and several pebble-powered nuclear generators to the power grid. The combination of increasing electricity demands and the push to support PBMR development have led to a renewed South African drive for international cooperation in the nuclear field. In addition to the China agreement, South Africa is negotiating agreements with Argentine, South Korea and Turkey. -------------- --- JOINT STUDIES FOR NEW COAL-TO-LIQUID FUEL PLANTS -------------- --- ¶11. (U) During the visit, South Africa chemical and fuel giant SASOL signed deals with Shenhua Ningxia Coal and with a consortium led by Shenhua Corporation to investigate the feasibility of coal-to-liquid (CTL) plants in China. Both feasibility studies are based on the concept of 80,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) plants run using Sasol's proprietary Fisher-Tropsch technology. Sasol expects to produce 53,000 bpd of diesel, 24,000 bpd naphtha and 6,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas according to data supplied by the company. Both of China's $5 billion plants could be operational by 2012. Running at full capacity, they would reduce Chinese oil imports by 15 percent. While China enjoys abundant coal reserves, it presently imports 40 percent of its oil and is the world's second-largest oil importer. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (SBU) With details sketchy, it is difficult to determine whether the new agreements are advantageous to both sides. At best, a textile agreement will buy time for marginal firms to rebuild and become more competitive, but it is certainly no panacea. The more likely long-term outcome is that those marginal firms will continue their downward slide. On the energy front, China gains access to South African technology and uranium reserves, while South Africa hopes to gain assistance in alleviating the ongoing power shortages in the Western Cape. Time will tell whether South Africa has made a good bargain with the Chinese. TEITELBAUM