China trade targets local industry
Namibia should use opportunities under China's zero-tariff initiative to attract manufacturing and processing investment, as economists warned that improved access to the Chinese market would mean little without greater local value addition.
The call emerged at the China-Africa Cooperation Symposium in Windhoek on Tuesday, where policymakers, researchers and business representatives explored ways to strengthen trade and investment between China, Namibia and the wider Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The discussions focused on the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development (CADEPA) and the potential opportunities presented by China's zero-tariff initiative. Speakers highlighted manufacturing, agro-processing, green energy and mineral beneficiation as areas where closer cooperation could support industrialisation and job creation.
Julia Muetudhana, acting chief executive of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), said preferential market access could strengthen Namibia's appeal as an investment destination, particularly for businesses looking to establish manufacturing and processing facilities.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of International Relations and Trade Minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, Muetudhana said Namibia wanted partnerships that built domestic productive capacity rather than relied solely on trade in raw materials.
“For Namibia, the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development (CADEPA) core promise lies in driving export diversification, investment, and technology transfer, aligned with our Sixth National Development Plan’s focus on industrialisation, local value addition, and job creation,” she said.
She added: “We welcome joint ventures in light manufacturing, agro-processing, green energy, and mineral beneficiation that build local capacity and transfer skills.”
The emphasis on processing and industrial development reflects a broader challenge for African economies: ensuring that growing trade with China translates into stronger domestic industries and more value retained within the continent.
Emmanuel Matambo, research director at the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, said trade between China and Africa had increased from 10 billion in 2000 to 348 billion in 2025.
However, he argued that African countries still needed to address the imbalance between exporting raw commodities and importing finished products.
“We kept exporting raw commodities and then importing processed goods from overseas,” Matambo said.
He urged African economies to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the zero-tariff initiative to change this pattern and strengthen their position in international trade.
For Namibia, this could mean using investment partnerships to expand processing capacity in sectors such as agriculture and mining, while developing the skills and technology needed to produce higher-value goods.
The symposium also highlighted the importance of African countries coordinating their engagement with China to improve their negotiating position.
Stanley Ehiane, a senior lecturer in political science and public administration at the University of Botswana, said African countries should pursue collective negotiations while continuing to align individual agreements with their national development priorities.
“When we actively negotiate as a group, there is more benefit compared to when we negotiate as an individual because it opens up the size of the market,” he said.
Ehiane argued that the African Union and other regional and international institutions had a role to play in coordinating engagement with China. At the same time, individual countries could pursue arrangements suited to their own economic development plans.
Economic Association of Namibia chairperson Jason Kasuto said the China-Africa relationship had evolved from political solidarity into a partnership increasingly shaped by trade and investment.
He said the zero-tariff initiative could open opportunities for Southern African goods in the Chinese market, while CADEPA provided a framework for cooperation in trade, industrialisation, technology and skills development.
China's ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping, said the economic relationship had become increasingly important to both sides.
“China has remained Africa's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years,” he said, adding that the potential of the relationship deserved greater attention alongside discussions of existing trade and investment.
Beyond market access, participants considered opportunities for technology transfer, digital transformation, knowledge exchange and skills development.
Discussions also addressed public policy, governance and institutional cooperation, including ways to strengthen collaboration between Namibian, Chinese and regional research institutions.
The symposium was hosted by the Economic Association of Namibia in partnership with the Chinese embassy and the NIPDB under the theme “China-Africa Partnership at 70: Deepening Collaboration and Exchanges”.
Its stated objectives included developing practical policy recommendations, strengthening institutional partnerships, identifying priorities for joint research and building a pipeline of collaborative initiatives involving Namibian, Southern African and Chinese stakeholders.
