Everyone here seems to be forgetting that the Chinese have quietly migrated at least 5 million people into Africa south of the Sahara and the flow continues. China has a huge male surplus problem and African women have a male shortage coupled with some cultural baggage that makes many of the available ones pretty worthless as a mate. For each sex, Chinese men moving to Africa is like both winning the lottery.
If South Africa comes apart it leaves pretty much the south half of the continent open to Chinese dominance and that half of the continent is pretty key to global supplies of things like nickel, chrome, platinum, cobalt, gold, etc...
It also gives the Chinese a “frontier” to send troublemakers and pot stirrers to.
China’s presence in Africa has interesting implications, once they achieve critical mass. They need Africa’s resources, but they have little need for Africans. The Chinese have plenty of their own people they can send over.