More Connected Than We Think
Youth, Creativity and the Digital Future of China–South Africa Relations
Kirtan Bhana - TDS
18 August 2026
From the Soweto ‘76 generation to the new digital generation of people-to-people diplomacy has a modern face, a voice and story. There are moments in international relations beyond government buildings, official communiqués and conference tables, something much more immediate, people telling their own stories about one another.
That was the spirit on display at the Chinese Consulate General in Johannesburg on 14 August 2026, when Consul General Pan Qingjiang addressed the awarding ceremony of the fourth consecutive China–South Africa Short Video Competition. The initiative, launched in June during South Africa's Youth Month under the theme “South Africa & China: More Connected Than We Think,” is an illuminating glimpse into how international relations are being experienced and interpreted by a generation that has grown up with smartphones, social media, digital production and instant access to information. The young participants are the storytellers, interpreters and communicators of international relations themselves.
2026 provides a particularly significant backdrop. It marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African nations, beginning with Egypt in 1956. It has also been designated the Year of China–Africa People-to-People Exchanges, placing human interaction, cultural understanding, education and youth at the centre of the broader China–Africa relationship. For South Africa, the symbolism is particularly powerful.
From Youth Day to a new generation Diplomats
South Africa's Youth Month carries its own profound historical meaning. On 16 June 1976, young people in Soweto stood at the centre of a defining moment in the country's struggle against apartheid. Fifty years later, the courage and determination of that generation remain part of South Africa's national consciousness.
But the South African youth of 2026 inhabit a dramatically different communications environment. The placard has been joined by the smartphone. The newspaper has been supplemented by the social-media feed. The public meeting has been joined by the livestream, podcast and short video. A young person with a phone and an idea can potentially communicate with thousands, even millions, of people. This transformation creates a new dimension.
The global narrative is no longer produced exclusively by governments, diplomats, journalists and media institutions and conglomerates. It is increasingly co-created by citizens. That is precisely what makes the short-video competition significant.
As Pan Qingjiang observed, the learners' submissions demonstrated “careful observations of social life, in-depth reflections and vivid creativity,” while portraying the practical dimensions of China–South Africa cooperation. The significance lies not only in what the young people produced, but in how they chose to see the relationship.
Diplomacy through a digital lens
International relations can sometimes appear distant from everyday life. Strategic partnerships, trade statistics, infrastructure projects, investment agreements and multilateral declarations can seem to belong to a world of officials and institutions. Yet relationships between countries ultimately become meaningful when they touch people's lives.
A Chinese-built vehicle assembled in South Africa, South African fruit reaching Chinese consumers, a student studying Mandarin, a learner discovering Chinese culture, a South African entrepreneur engaging with Chinese business, a technology partnership, an academic exchange or a tourist travelling between the two countries can all become part of the living fabric of bilateral relations. The short-video format has an unusual ability to capture these connections.
It compresses complex ideas into visual stories. It combines music, language, movement, humour, history and personal experience. It allows young people to communicate in the language with which they are most comfortable, digital speak. In this respect, the competition is itself an example of how people to people connections are evolving.
The question is no longer simply how one country communicates to another. It is increasingly about how people communicate with one another.
“More connected than we think”
South Africa and China may indeed be more connected than many people realise. The relationship has developed considerably since diplomatic relations were formally established in 1998. South Africa and China have moved from a strategic partnership towards an all-round strategic cooperative partnership, with political, economic, educational, cultural and people-to-people links expanding over time.
CG Pan Qingjiang pointed to the scale of the economic relationship, noting that China has remained South Africa's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, with bilateral trade exceeding US$53.5 billion, according to the figures cited in his address. He also highlighted Chinese investment in South Africa, stating that China's direct investment stock had surpassed US$11.7 billion, with nearly 300 Chinese enterprises operating in the country and cooperation extending across infrastructure, automobile manufacturing, mineral processing, new energy and the digital economy.
These numbers are important as the young filmmakers portrayed the human dimension of the relationship. A two-minute video can potentially communicate what the relationship looks like from the perspective of ordinary people, something a 50-page policy document may not be able to.
That is why the Consul General's observation that the connection is “tangible, accessible and beneficial to every citizen” is particularly relevant. The challenge for diplomacy in the digital age is to make those connections visible, understandable and relatable.
From historical friendship to contemporary partnership
China's relationship with Africa has a long historical trajectory, and South Africa occupies a distinctive position within it. During the struggle against apartheid, China expressed support for the South African people's struggle for national liberation. Following South Africa's democratic transition and the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1998, the relationship entered a new phase.
Since then, bilateral relations have grown alongside South Africa's increasing engagement with the Global South. South Africa became a member of BRICS in 2010, creating another important platform through which South Africa and China interact, while cooperation has expanded through forums including the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the G20 and other multilateral institutions. The relationship therefore exists on several levels simultaneously, bilateral, African, Global South and multilateral. But beneath these structures is something much simpler. People.
The people-to-people foundation
President Xi Jinping's observation cited by Pan Qingjiang provides an important philosophical foundation: “The foundation and lifeline of China-Africa relations lie with the people.”
Economic agreements can create opportunities. Government-to-government agreements can establish frameworks. Diplomatic relations can provide the architecture. But people-to-people relations give those structures life. The Year of China–Africa People-to-People Exchanges therefore provides an opportunity to look beyond traditional measures of bilateral relations. How many students are exchanging visits? How many young Africans are studying in China? How many Chinese students are learning about Africa? How many artists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, journalists, academics, athletes and tourists are meeting each other? How many stories are being created?
These are not peripheral questions. They are increasingly central to the sustainability of international relationships. The rise of the information-savvy African youth
Africa's demographic future makes this even more important.
The continent possesses one of the world's youngest populations, and its young people are increasingly connected to global information networks. They consume international news, follow global trends, create content, build online businesses and participate in conversations that cross borders without requiring a diplomatic passport. This creates enormous potential for China–South Africa relations. It also creates responsibility.
An information-savvy generation requires more than access to information. It requires media literacy, critical thinking, cultural literacy and the ability to distinguish information from misinformation. Digital diplomacy cannot simply become another channel for broadcasting official messages. Its greater potential lies in encouraging young people to explore, question, create and engage.
The winning video is therefore not necessarily important because it is professionally produced. It is important because a young South African has looked at another country and asked, What does this relationship mean to me? That is a diplomatic question of considerable depth.
Education as the bridge that has to be crossed
The Consul General placed education firmly within this equation, describing it as “the cornerstone of national development” and youth as “the future of nations and the future of China-South Africa friendship.” This connects directly with the Driving Education Culture initiative through which the Consulate General has sought to engage educational institutions and young people. Education is perhaps the most sustainable form of diplomacy because its influence extends well beyond the immediate exchange.
A learner who studies Mandarin may eventually become a translator, entrepreneur, diplomat, academic or journalist. A student who visits China may return with an understanding that cannot be acquired from a textbook. A Chinese student who encounters South African history, music, literature or contemporary culture may similarly develop a relationship with Africa that extends beyond stereotypes. The classroom therefore becomes another dynamic space like the film studio, smartphone and social-media platforms.
The creative power of the short video
There is something particularly appropriate about using short video to celebrate people-to-people relations in 2026. Video is no longer merely a medium for professional broadcasters. It has become a language of everyday communication. Young people understand framing, editing, music, pacing, visual storytelling and audience engagement intuitively. They can turn a school project into a documentary, an interview into a conversation, a cultural experience into a visual narrative and an observation into a story.
It is creative diplomacy that embraces technological sophistication to reach audiences that conventional communications may never reach. The ability to tell authentic stories in formats that audiences actually consume is an opportunity to work with young creators rather than simply communicating at them.
A relationship that belongs to the next generation
CG Pan Qingjiang's invitation to young South Africans to “visit and study in China” is therefore significant beyond educational exchange. It is an invitation to experience another society directly. Direct experience is one of the most powerful antidotes to misunderstanding. A young South African who experiences Chinese cities, universities, technology, culture and everyday life returns with a personal narrative. A Chinese young person who encounters South Africa in person similarly returns with a more nuanced understanding of the country's history, diversity, creativity and aspirations. These experiences become stories, stories become conversations and conversations can become relationships.
From Soweto 1976 to digital Africa 2026
There is a powerful historical bridge between the youth of 1976 and the youth of 2026. The generation of 1976 used the tools available to it to challenge an unjust system and demand recognition, dignity and equality. Today's generation possesses vastly different tools. Its challenge is not to replicate the methods of the past, but to use its own extraordinary capabilities responsibly.
Cameras can document, microphones can amplify. smartphone can connect, the internet can educate, artificial intelligence can assist creativity. But ultimately, technology is only as meaningful as the human purpose behind it. The young filmmakers participating in the China–South Africa competition demonstrate one possibility, using digital creativity to discover connections between societies rather than simply consuming content about them.
That is a valuable lesson for diplomacy itself.
The next chapter in the China–South Africa story
The China–South Africa relationship has accumulated considerable institutional depth over nearly three decades of formal diplomatic relations. It now possesses the foundations of a mature partnership encompassing politics, trade, investment, education, culture, technology and multilateral cooperation.
The next phase, however, cannot belong solely to institutions. It must increasingly belong to the people. And particularly to the young people who will inherit the relationship.
The 70th anniversary milestone in China–Africa relations, the Year of China–Africa People-to-People Exchanges, South Africa's 50-year remembrance of the events of 16 June 1976, and the growing sophistication of the country's digitally connected youth converge to create a remarkable moment. A moment in which history and technology meet through the a generation of young South African filmmakers setting course for the future of interactions, encounters, engagements and exchanges And in the age of digital diplomacy, the most powerful ambassadors of that connection may not always be wearing diplomatic credentials.