JOHANNESBURG – The highly successful China Homelife and Machinex Trade Fair 2025 – the largest exhibition of Chinese producers in South Africa – closed on Thursday, 25 September. The fair, which attracted thousands of visitors happened at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. Launched on Tuesday, it featured 500 verified Chinese exhibitors presenting over 10,000 high-quality, certified products across numerous sectors including Building Materials, Appliances and Electronics, Household Goods and Gifts, Machinery, Textiles and Apparel as well as Décor and Furniture.
Now in its ninth year, the China Homelife South Africa Trade Fair is an effective platform for qualified, leading Chinese exhibitors seeking to do business in Africa and professional local buyers in Africa seeking to import or do business with China. It affords African importers, wholesalers, buyers, and entrepreneurs, the chance to interact face-to-face with Chinese manufacturers and suppliers and view the latest high-quality, cost-effective, innovative products from China. It also enables them to develop strong business relationships with the exhibitors.
China Homelife South Africa 2025 featured a wide range of different products from China – from Cookware, Kitchenware, car chargers and wall chargers, right through to leather bags, clothing, stoves, water pumps, tyres, inverters, solar panels, furniture, lamps, painting tools, printing and sewing machines and so much more.
Cathy Wang, the CEO of Jinhua Comfort Vehicle and Jinhua Comfort Health Technology, companies that sell full body massage chairs, massage cushions, scalp massagers, foot massagers and portable massagers, said that a large number of people came to her exhibition stand and showed great interest in her products. She is hoping to come to China Homelife next year. “We are looking to find a distributor in South Africa to sell our products here,” she added.
Binu Pillai, Chief Operating Officer of Meorient International Exhibition, organisers of China Homelife South Africa, said: “China Homelife is very important because Chinese companies are looking into diversifying their markets and having greater investment in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. South Africa is a great country to invest in due to it having abundant natural resources, strong industries and manpower.
“We hope that the China Homelife Trade Fair accelerates the opening of factories and local production sites of Chinese products in South Africa. We really hope that our partners and distributors take their work to the next level and collaborate to turn this vision into reality.”
A key feature of this year’s China Homelife Expo was the launch of the inaugural Ubuntu Smart Cities Conference. A continental platform dedicated to advancing sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready urban development in Africa and the Global South, the theme of the conference was: Building Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities Through Innovation.
Its focus spanned across key sectors including Smart Infrastructure & Construction, Green Energy & Utilities, ICT & Digital Transformation, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0, Transport & Mobility, Smart Agriculture & Food Security, Financial Services & Investment, Real Estate & Urban Planning, and Public Sector Development.
The conference offered a depth of content and insight on the development of Smart Cities from various experts and stakeholders, including Former Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, Kevin Naidoo of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Tebogo Matlou, the Project Manager for International Programmes and Partnerships at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Elias Monage, South African BRICS Business Council Member, Mapule Ncanywa, the Chairperson of the BRICS Skills Working Group and Mostafa Daryabari, the Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The critical need of skills development, serious funding and investment, good governance, political will and easy access to data and technology in driving the Smart City agenda was also strongly emphasised. The conference highlighted that while technologies such as AI and other innovations are important in tackling urban challenges, it is also critical that these cities promote humanity, dignity and collective well-being and that they are inclusive, resilient, sustainable and liveable.
Speaking about the conference, Coley Zephenia, the Smart City Task Team Convener for the South Africa BRICS Business Council Manufacturing Working Group (SABBC MWG), said: “The conference was a humbling success given that it was an inaugural launch of the initiative. It was well attended. The objective was to put together different stakeholders in South Africa and BRICS to map the way forward with regard to the development of Smart Cities. It was also an affirmation of what we strongly believe in; that our strength is in unity of purpose. This was summarised by Lindiwe Zulu, when she said: “The conference must be named Ubuntu Smart City Conference Ya Bantu.”
Look out for the next China Homelife South Africa and Ubuntu Smart Cities Conference coming to you in 2026!
Issued by: Thandiwe McCloy – Public Relations Lead – Papasha Media
Email: thandiwem@papashamedia.co.za
Cellphone: 083 696 6597
ABOUT CHINA HOMELIFE: China Homelife South Africa is a platform for leading Chinese companies seeking to do business in Africa and African businesses seeking to import or do business with China. Business owners, sourcing managers and supply chain officials have the opportunity to engage with approved world-class suppliers and manufacturers from China. The event brings together significant players from major industries and enables visitors to view a large number of products to evaluate, compare, see demonstrations and ask detailed questions. It provides visitors with a comprehensive overview of the entire China sourcing process.
The event takes place in 13 cities across the world each year, namely Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Dubai, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Cairo, Amman, Warsaw, Mexico, Lagos, Nairobi, Tehran and Almaty.
Run in partnership with Machinex, China Homelife is the largest China sourcing event on the African continent.
The 2025 edition of the trade fair featured over 500 verified Chinese exhibitors showcasing over 10 000 qualified products.
ABOUT UBUNTU SMART CITIES CONFERENCE: The Ubuntu Smart Cities Conference is a continental platform dedicated to advancing sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready urban development in Africa and the Global South. Hosted annually, the conference brings together policymakers, city leaders, innovators, investors, and business leaders to address pressing challenges in infrastructure, energy, mobility, technology, and service delivery.
With a vision inspired by the African waterhole, a gathering place for collaboration and shared solutions, the Ubuntu Smart Cities Conference promotes investment, skills development, capacity building, and global knowledge exchange. Its focus spans across key sectors including Smart Infrastructure & Construction, Green Energy & Utilities, ICT & Digital Transformation, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0, Transport & Mobility, Smart Agriculture & Food Security, Financial Services & Investment, Real Estate & Urban Planning, and Public Sector Development. By fostering practical partnerships and market opportunities, the Ubuntu Smart Cities Conference has established itself as a global stage for Africa’s urban transformation and sustainable growth.
