I don't know what to say. Before I pull my hair out let me take out my scale to weigh the two to determine which one is a better devil. in international relations, every superpower alliance comes with strings attached. I see two different sets of risks or "devils" that must be carefully managed. We have a Superpower USA and a Block (Super Power China plus.) Everything comes with a STRING on both sides. * United States: There are over 600 US companies employing approximately 148,000 locals. * AGOA - While South Africa exports roughly $8 billion to $14.5 billion worth of goods to the U.S * BRICS Nations: While there isn't a singular "BRICS registry," the major partners have a massive footprint. There are over 200 Chinese companies and more than 150 Indian companies operating across South African industries, with each of these two nations having invested over $10 billion into the country. Key insight: US development leans heavily toward public health and civil society, whereas BRICS funding is heavily concentrated on hard infrastructure, energy and transportation. Developmental Projects * BRICS Projects: Development is primarily routed through the New Development Bank (NDB). In South Africa specifically, this includes several massive, sovereign-backed infrastructure initiatives, such as the uMkhomazi Water Project, the Passenger Rail Infrastructure Renewal Project, and various clean energy investments. * US Projects: The US structures its aid through hundreds of ongoing programmatic grants rather than a set number of hard infrastructure projects, acting as South Africa's largest foreign aid donor. Through USAID and PEPFAR alone, the US has invested over $8 billion across two decades to combat HIV/AIDS and support health systems. For scale, a recent 2025 funding freeze impacted roughly 40 active USAID-funded health projects simultaneously.