South Africans Endorse Open Trade, Greater African Voice in International Affairs

7 November 2025
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma

Majorities welcome the influence of China, the AU, and SADC.

Key findings

  • Roughly six in 10 South Africans are satisfied with the way that SADC (58%) and the AU (60%) recognise South Africa's needs and interests in their decision making. o A large majority (75%) say African countries should have a greater say in international decision-making bodies such as the United Nations.
  • About six in 10 citizens (61%) prefer free trade over limiting international trade to protect domestic producers. o A similar majority (57%) favour open trade with countries around the world, while nearly four in 10 would privilege trade with African countries (25%) or Southern African countries (13%).
  • Only 12% of respondents say they have heard of the AfCFTA.
  • Positive assessments outweigh negative ones when it comes to the economic and political influence of China (68% vs. 14%), the AU (59% vs. 13%), SADC (57% vs. 16%), the EU (50% vs. 14%), the United States (46% vs. 33%), India (41% vs. 19%), Russia (40% vs. 26%), and the United Kingdom (37% vs. 25%).
  • Asked who helped South Africa most during the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens are most likely to cite the United States (22%), followed by the AU or Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (20%) and China (15%).
  • Majorities of citizens see China's influence on South Africa as substantial (65%) and positive (68%), up since 2022 (56% and 37%, respectively).
  • Among the 65% of South Africans who are aware of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, most (74%) favour taking a neutral stance on the war.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

The African Union (AU) was admitted as a permanent member of the G20 in 2023 (Masamba, 2024). South Africa's presidency in 2025 is the first time an African country has taken on the mantle of agenda-setter of this multilateral forum. The country's leadership is widely seen as an opportunity to give more prominence to African priorities such as climate change, debt relief, fair trade, and infrastructure investment (Time Africa, 2025).

Since 1994, when South Africa joined the AU, it has contributed significantly to continental affairs. It has championed economic integration through intra-African trade, sought to elevate Africa's voice on the global stage, and promoted peace through conflict mediation and peacekeeping missions in conflict zones across Africa (History Rise, 2025). When South Africa chaired the AU at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it pushed for fairer development finance, access to vaccines and funding, and support for economic recovery in the Global South (African Union, 2021; Brand South Africa, 2025).

South Africa's biggest bilateral trading partners are China, the United States, and Germany (Ishmael, 2023). In August of this year, South African exports to the United States were slapped with a 30% tariff, causing especially grievous harm to the country's agricultural, manufacturing, and mining sectors (Tarrant, 2025). In response, the government is looking to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to facilitate greater economic integration and cooperation across the African continent (Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, 2025). Meanwhile, trade within the BRICS group is growing; it represented 21% of the country's total trade volume in 2024, led by China and India. And new markets such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates are also gaining momentum (BRICS Connect, 2025).

Ahead of the G20 summit in Johannesburg (22-23 November), this dispatch explores how South Africans view their economic and political relations with the rest of the world.

The most recent Afrobarometer survey reveals that citizens are supportive of international trade and political cooperation.

Two-thirds of South Africans see China's economic and political influence on the country as positive - five times the share of negative assessments. Perceptions that China's influence is substantial and positive recovered in 2025, having fallen between 2015 and 2022.

Citizens are also more positive than negative in their assessments of the influence of the AU, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the European Union (EU), the United States, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

About six in 10 express satisfaction with the way South Africa's needs and interests are recognised in AU and SADC decision making. But fully three-quarters say African countries need a stronger voice on global platforms such as the United Nations.

Three-fifths of South Africans endorse open trade, but only about one in eight have heard of the AfCFTA.

Among the two-thirds of respondents who have heard of the Ukraine-Russia war, most want their country to remain neutral.

Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa

Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Afrobarometer. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.