‘WE SHOULD ENGAGE CHINESE GOVT’ CHINA SHUTS DOOR TO ALL EMASWATI

MBABANE - Engaging the Government of Mainland China and finding common ground remains the only option for the Eswatini Government.

This is what Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo believes will be the starting point in salvaging the situation which has seen emaSwati being denied visas to travel to China for business endeavours.

This publication reported yesterday that China had denied emaSwati businesspeople visas to travel to the Asian country to stock up on merchandise.
Khumalo said there was a strong need to have a sitting as politicians, together with the private sector, to formulate a position on the matter with Mainland China, to see what they can do to try and selvage the weakening trade relations with the Asian country because previously, local businesspeople have had no challenges going to purchase merchandise in China but now things were taking a turn for the worst.

He said it was in this regard that they had to be seen doing something about it.
“China is our second largest trading partner after South Africa so the implications will be very huge. We need to engage the Chinese Government to find out what triggered the latest developments, which has seen them putting their foot down on approving visas for emaSwati who wish to go to China for business endeavours. Up to now, no explanation has been offered and it is our responsibility to take the matter up before it escalates to a level where emaSwati lose revenue in their businesses,” he said.

Khumalo also said they had to engage stakeholders in the business sector so that they could also make their submissions on the matter to find a solution to this challenge. He said if the country did not do anything about the situation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as big businesses could suffer very great costs owing to the magnitude of the trade relations with China. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, through its Communication Officer, Sikhumbuzo Bhembe, also issued a statement which confirmed that indeed Mainland China had taken a stance not to approve visa applications for Eswatini passport holders.

The statement stated that that the ministry’s investigations about the reported exclusion have since revealed that the People’s Republic of China had issued a notice of new visa application procedures, specifically for emaSwati who would require that applications be processed at the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria.
“Following newspaper reports that a certain number of emaSwati were turned away from obtaining visas to travel to the Republic of China (Mainland), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has conclusively learnt that there was no formal communication from any diplomatic agency or Government of the People’s Republic of China about any intention to exclude emaSwati from entering the territory.

The ministry endeavours to allay any fears of emaSwati and will monitor any situation deriving from this occurrence. For this reason, the ministry remains seized of the matter,” reads part of the statement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Thuli Dladla also confirmed that their findings shed some light on what this publication reported on, and the prime minister was working on a statement that would give the position of government in this situation.
“EmaSwati should remain calm. Government is putting all efforts in dealing with the matter and an amicable solution will be reached between the two States,” she asserted.

According to the latest notification by the Chinese Government, starting from January 10, 2020, visa application of Eswatini citizens to Mainland China will be processed by the Chinese Embassy in South Africa. At the same time, the Chinese Visa application service centre and other Chinese diplomatic missions will not accept the applications any more.

Meanwhile, Hu Zhenge from the Embassy of China in South Africa, said he had submitted a detailed and official statement to his seniors and was waiting for approval. However, the statement had not been approved by the time of going to print yesterday.

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