[4][5] In the 2010 Beijing Declaration, South Africa was upgraded to the diplomatic status of Strategic Comprehensive Partner by the Chinese government.

[11] The handover of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997 was a factor in the switch in official recognition, as South Africa had strong trade links with the territory, then under British administration.

Pretoria was concerned that after the handover, Beijing might downgrade its consulate and the country would no longer be allowed to use Hong Kong as a transit route for air traffic and trade.

[13] However, Taiwan lobbied hard for continued South African recognition and initiated an expensive public relations drive to convince members of the anti-apartheid government.

After many years of strong lobbying and engagement with Mandela in November 1996 the South African government announced that it would switch recognition from Taiwan to the PRC in January 1998.

[15][16] In 1992, trade between China and South Africa amounted to US$14 million, but by the time the two countries had established relations in 1998, this had swelled to US$1.4 billion.

[20] With the invitation, it was expected that South Africa would expand its trade relations with other BRIC countries, including China.

Some see the BRICS relationship as potentially competing with South Africa's relations with the IBSA Dialogue Forum.

[24] In July 2018, China announced to invest $15 billion in South Africa's economy which included loans for power utilities and infrastructure.

[citation needed] Chinese loans to South African power utility Eskom have proven controversial amidst accusations that it was an example of debt-trap diplomacy by China.

The size of loan and the lack of public information about it was controversial[26][27] and criticized by opposition parties as a possibly pushing South Africa into a "debt trap".

[32] In the early nineties, before South Africa officially recognised the PRC, Chinese Foreign Minister and CCP Politburo member Qian Qichen (钱其琛) paid an unofficial and very quiet visit to South Africa to meet senior government ministers and inspect possible future embassy sites.

[17]: 168–169 In September 2007 then South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka visited Beijing and met with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao (胡锦涛).

[42] In July 2015 South Africa's deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, led a trade and economic delegation to China.

[47] After the post-apartheid establishment of bilateral relations, China began building support form South Africa for the creation of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000.

[5][54][55] A number of analysts such as Patrick Heller,[53] have argued that South Africa's ruling ANC sees the Chinese Communist Party as a model for maintaining control over the country as a de facto One-party state and/or as an aspect of anti-Western feeling by South African government elites.

[56] In March 2009 the Dalai Lama was refused entry to South Africa, officially to keep Tibetan politics from overshadowing the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

[57][58] The refusal to allow the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa sparked a political debate within South Africa about the country's political and business interests with China, with some accusing the government of "selling out" sovereignty, and others pointing out the negative consequences to China-French business relations after French president Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama.

"[64] Dalai Lama was again unable to enter South Africa when he was invited to attend the Nobel Peace Laureates world summit in October 2014.

[71][72] By 2020 it was reported that funds allocated to pay for an adjusted contract to deliver the locomotives produced by CSR Corporation, now reformed and renamed CRRC, had been frozen by the South African Revenue Service due to possible instances of corruption paid to associates of the Gupta family to secure the contract.