FERIAL HAFFAJEE: Xi should lend Ramaphosa some of that tiger and fly repellent
Every time I looked this week, there was President Cyril Ramaphosa in a proper bromance with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The love-in was no surprise. Xi touched down in his Air China jet bearing gifts. He has perfected the art of Guanxi - the exchange of gifts to boost connections and networks. It is how business is done in China. He pledged targeted investments of about R200-billion, a huge boost to Ramaphosa's target to raise $100 billion over five years. Then, Xi threw Eskom and Transnet lifeline loans as they battle with balance sheets depleted by the years of state capture engineered by the Gupta family network, assisted by their political patron, former president Jacob Zuma.Last week, Chinese ambassador Lin Songtian said his country had already tallied up a cumulative $25-billion (R330-billion) investment in South Africa. Which means Xi almost doubled that on a single day, although it will come in only over the medium term. Trade between China and South Africa in 2017...
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