Spotlight: S. African experts warn of uncertainty after U.S. presidential election

As the world continues to grapple with the reality of having Donald Trump as the next U.S. president, political experts and economists in South Africa say future dealings with him remain uncertain.

During his campaign trail, Trump said many things which, if implemented, could be detrimental to the world. John Stremlau, professor of International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, told Xinhua that the world waits to see if his threats would become a reality.

"Is he going to change his behavior, we wait to see. Besides backing away from his rhetoric campaign, maybe there is hope you can do business with him. He is a businessman but not a robust multi-lateralist, very much a zero-sum trader," Stremlau said.

"I hope to see China, the United States and Africa collaborate in cases like war on Sudan and trilateral maritime safety. These ought to be a win-win for China, the United States and Africa. Maybe Trump is going to change his behavior, but that will be verified," Stremlau said.

Trump also threatened to build a wall to keep out illegal Mexican migrants. His victory saw the Mexican currency, the peso, tumbling against the U.S. dollar. Lesiba Mothata, chief economist at Investment Solutions in South Africa, said if Trump carries out his threats, there will be trade wars between the United States and Mexico.

Mothata said that with the world facing weak economic growth, Trump's promise to exercise fiscal policy would be welcomed by the markets.

"Nothing is official, it's still unclear and uncertain. If the promise he made on fiscal policy plays out in terms of spending plans on infrastructure, it could prove useful to the globe. This could be a new direction in terms of igniting new growth in the world. This could promote South Africa and commodity-producing markets and emerging markets," Mothata said.

After President Barack Obama promised 7 billion U.S. dollars to support the building of reliable electric power grids in sub-Saharan Africa, Trump said African leaders and the opposition political parties are greedy.

However, Mothata said the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which the United States signed with some African countries remains legal. The AGOA is meant to ensure that some African products get duty-free access to American markets and vice versa. It remains to be seen how cooperation between the United States and South Africa would be like.

Euvin Naidoo, another South African economist, said while the future looks uncertain, South Africa and African countries could exploit some of the policies Trump promised.

Mothata believes that BRICS will be unshaken by Trump's win and its member states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be more united.

"These five countries will further pull themselves together, and emerging markets will have a big share of global trade and a strong voice when put together," he said, adding that BRICS will gain stronger impetus. Endi