A new chapter in cooperation between African countries that produce diamonds and China opened on September 15, 2026, in Beijing, where the Republic of South Africa joined Botswana and Namibia in signing the Beijing Declaration on Natural Diamonds and Sustainable Development. The document focuses on further development of the diamond industry, including mining, processing, skills development, and sustainable development, while also connecting it with the Chinese jewelry market.
The declaration brings together governments and representatives from the diamond industries of three major African producing countries with the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, leading Chinese jewelry companies, and representatives from the international natural diamond industry.
This initiative comes at a critical time for the global diamond industry, which is facing changing consumer behavior, pressure on demand for natural diamonds, and the rapid expansion of lab-grown diamonds.
For African producers, however, the Beijing meeting was an effort to deepen the relationship between the economic benefits of diamonds in producing countries and consumers who ultimately buy diamond jewelry in China.
The signing of the declaration was hosted by the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), which is positioning itself as a bridge between the international diamond supply chain and the Chinese jewelry market. Discussions focused on the state of the global natural diamond industry, trends among Chinese consumers and retailers, the socio-economic benefits of diamonds in African producing countries, and opportunities for deeper collaboration within the industry.
Republic of South Africa at the negotiating table
The Republic of South Africa was represented by Nosiphiwo Mzamo, CEO of the South African company State Diamond Trader, who was one of the four main proponents of the Beijing Declaration.
Other proponents of the declaration included Lin Qiang, President of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange; Professor Lekoko S. Kenosi, Ambassador of Botswana to China; and Tonata Itenge-Emvula, Ambassador of Namibia to China. The formal ceremony was also attended by Dipuo Bertha Letsatsi-Duba, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the People's Republic of China, who witnessed the signing.
Mzamo brings extensive experience in the South African mining industry to the initiative. She has a background in geology and mining engineering, has worked in the mining sector, and joined State Diamond Trader as CEO in October 2023.
For the Republic of South Africa, this initiative is particularly important given the country's long-term goal of increasing the level of domestic processing of minerals and ensuring that its mineral wealth creates more value within the domestic economy. State Diamond Trader has a legal mandate to expand the participation of the Republic of South Africa in diamond processing, including cutting and polishing.
Recent parliamentary reports have also highlighted the challenges facing the domestic diamond industry, including weaker demand for cut diamonds and broader instability in the international market.
Deeper engagement with the Chinese diamond and jewelry ecosystem offers South African producers, manufacturers, and businesses another avenue to access a significant international market.
Declaration based on cooperation
The Beijing Declaration creates a framework for cooperation aimed at deepening exchange and collaboration across the entire value chain of natural diamonds while also promoting sustainable development in producing countries.
Key areas include supporting African countries in strengthening local value creation, developing skills, and diversifying their economies.
The declaration also calls for more transparent and objective communication with consumers about the origin of natural diamonds and their socio-economic impact.
The framework is set within the broader context of cooperation between China and Africa, and aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Diamonds are presented as a resource linked to employment, skills development, economic activity, and in some producing countries, also national development and environmental protection.
The importance of this argument was strongly emphasized by the Ambassador of Botswana to China, Professor Lekoko S. Kenosi.
For Botswana, diamonds have played an important role in the country's development since independence and have supported investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and livelihoods.
Botswana has also expanded its participation beyond mining into areas such as diamond sorting, cutting, and polishing, while also striving to retain a greater share of technology, expertise, and economic value within the country.
In his speech at the signing ceremony, Kenosi emphasized that Botswana does not expect consumers to bear responsibility for the development of the country. Rather, the goal is to better inform consumers about the entire story of a diamond's origin and its economic benefits.
The declaration is an attempt to strengthen understanding of the relationship between consumption in China and economic activity in the countries from which diamonds originate.
The participation of Namibia adds another significant diamond-producing country to this framework. The country was represented by Ambassador Tonata Itenge-Emvula, one of the main proponents of the declaration.
For Namibia, diamonds remain an important part of the national economy, while the country also strives for greater domestic participation and value creation in the diamond industry.
Her participation alongside Botswana and South Africa gives the initiative a distinctly African character from the producing countries, rather than presenting the cooperation as a bilateral arrangement between China and the industry.
This arrangement of three countries also creates a foundation for collaboration in addressing common challenges, while preserving individual national interests and strategies for developing the diamond industry of each producer.
At the center of the initiative is the Shanghai Diamond Exchange. The SDE was established with the approval of the State Council in 2000 and serves as China's national platform for diamond trading. It provides a range of services connecting the international diamond supply chain with the Chinese market, including customs, tax, and certification services. It is also a permanent member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.
The role of the exchange gives the Beijing Declaration an important commercial dimension. The Chinese diamond industry encompasses trading, jewelry manufacturing, retail, certification, logistics, and increasingly sophisticated businesses focused directly on consumers. This ecosystem was visibly represented at the Beijing ceremony.
Among the prominent Chinese jewelry companies that participated in the event were Chow Tai Fook, Lao Feng Xiang, Chow Sang Sang, Lukfook Jewellery, CHJ Jewelry, Chow Tai Seng, Sino Gem, and Kimberlite.
Their participation creates a direct link between government and industry representatives from African producing countries and companies that are closest to Chinese consumers of jewelry.
For Lin Qiang, President of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, the event represented the beginning of a closer relationship, not the culmination of negotiations.
The SDE was described as a platform and bridge connecting China with leading African diamond-producing countries. It also emphasized the importance of bringing the origin and value of natural diamonds to an increasingly large number of Chinese consumers.
It is expected that the exchange will continue to be involved, even as participants move from the declaration itself to specific areas of cooperation. These include collaboration in market data, consumer education, cross-border sharing of practical experience in the industry, and further cooperation through existing sustainable development mechanisms between China and Africa.
Trust, Employment, and Sustainable Development
Ambassador Letsatsi-Duba described the declaration as a positive and constructive framework for dialogue, cooperation, and mutual understanding between African producers and the Chinese natural diamond sector.
In her speech, she highlighted the link between natural diamonds and economic growth, employment, and sustainable development.
She also emphasized the importance of consumer trust, especially given the emotional and symbolic role associated with jewelry made from natural diamonds.
The diamond industry of the Republic of South Africa operates within a much broader mining economy, but domestic processing of raw materials remains a central part of the country's strategy for developing its mineral wealth.
The challenge is not only to extract raw materials, but also to increase economic activity, develop skills, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship associated with them. The Beijing framework creates another international platform through which this goal can be achieved.
The International Diamond Industry Meets in Beijing
The ceremony also showed that the initiative extends beyond the three African governments and the Chinese market.
Among those present at the signing were Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group; Amber Pepper, CEO of Natural Diamond Council; and Emma Wade-Smith, representing World Diamond Council.
Cook welcomed the declaration as a framework for strengthening connections between African producing countries and Chinese consumers.
De Beers describes its approach in Africa through the "Building Forever" strategy, which links diamond production to economic and environmental outcomes.
The company's participation involves one of the world's largest diamond companies in a broader dialogue involving governments of producing countries, the Chinese jewelry industry, and international industrial organizations.
The Consumer Takes Center Stage
One of the most significant themes that emerged from the Beijing meeting is the changing relationship between a diamond and its consumer. The declaration highlights the growing interest among Chinese consumers in authenticity, traceability, cultural significance, and lasting value.
This shift is important because the diamond industry operates in a market where consumers have more choices than ever before.
Lab-grown diamonds offer a different proposition based on technological production and price, while natural diamonds continue to be associated with geological rarity, origin, and tradition.
The Beijing declaration places greater emphasis on explaining the unique origin and socio-economic benefits of natural diamonds. This approach is particularly important for African producing countries, as their economic story begins long before a finished piece of jewelry reaches a Chinese retail outlet.
From Mine to Consumer
For Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, one of the main questions is how much value can be retained or created before a diamond leaves the African continent. The declaration's emphasis on local value creation and skills development reflects this issue.
Cutting and polishing are obvious components of this process, but the broader value chain also includes jewelry manufacturing, design, brand building, technology, certification, logistics, marketing, and communication with consumers.
Stronger relationships with China could create opportunities for African businesses to connect with Chinese manufacturers, retailers, and technology companies, while also helping to develop greater domestic capacity. For South Africa, this complements its existing strategy of processing raw materials domestically. For Botswana and Namibia, it represents another way to build on their already developed diamond industries. For China, it creates a closer relationship with countries that supply a significant portion of the natural diamonds entering the global market.
A rough framework that still needs to be refined
The Beijing Declaration is a framework for cooperation that outlines several areas for further action, including collaboration on market data within the industry, educating consumers about natural diamonds, exchanging best practices globally, and exploring additional opportunities for cooperation through sustainable development mechanisms between China and Africa.
The timing is significant because the global diamond industry is undergoing a period of change, while China remains one of the world's largest markets for jewelry.
At the same time, African producing countries face the need to diversify their economies and gain more value from their mineral resources. The Beijing Declaration brings these themes together into a single discussion. The next challenge will be its implementation.
Kirtan Bhana, TDS