ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that the trade relationship between South Africa and Asian developing countries has steadily expanded, especially after the two epoch-making years, 1990 and 1994 and that there are discernable patterns in this change in South Africa’s Asian trade. It focuses on one group of Asian countries that has great potential for expanding economic relations with South Africa based upon their respective comparative advantage. South Africa’s commodity trade structure in its trade with Asian developing countries has assumed the basic pattern whereby South Africa exports inedible crude materials and several commodities of the manufacturing industry and imports other manufactured goods and electric machinery. China’s main export commodities to South Africa are electric machinery and light industrial goods such as footwear and textiles. Malaysia’s commodity trade structure in the trade with South Africa is slightly different from other Asian developing countries’ trade structure.
