At the heart of a growing Global South alliance, China and South Africa have fostered a decades-long public health partnership that spans from medical teams in rural clinics to joint research in traditional healing.
Since the early 2000s, Chinese medical teams — doctors, nurses and public-health specialists — have stationed themselves in underserved South African provinces. Their mission: deliver clinical care, support disease-prevention initiatives and offer maternal and child health services. They’ve also rolled out community outreach programs, teaching locals about traditional medicine practices adapted from Chinese heritage.
In 2025, the collaboration took a strategic leap. At a ceremony in Pretoria, China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund pledged $3.49 million over two years to bolster South Africa’s HIV/AIDS response. With an estimated 8 million people living with HIV — and nearly 6 million already on antiretroviral therapy — South Africa faces funding gaps that threaten to reverse progress, especially among adolescents and young adults.
Beyond modern medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gained official recognition in South Africa since 2011. Today, TCM treatments in partner clinics are insurance-eligible, and new TCM centers jointly run by both countries are springing up. These hubs are laboratories for research, training grounds for local practitioners and cultural spaces showcasing the synergy between Chinese and African healing traditions.
As the 2025 G20 Summit readies to convene in Africa later this year, health is top of the agenda. The China–South Africa partnership offers a powerful example of how two major developing countries can drive resilience in public health — and shape the global health conversation from the South.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
