(Beijing) – China is not to blame for trade imbalances with African, says South African political economist Moeletsi Mbeki.

Mbeki's remarks were in response to South African President Jacob Zuma's assertion in June that the trade pattern between China and African countries was unsustainable in the long term.

Mbeki is deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, a non-government think tank, and the younger brother of former South African president Thabo Mbeki.