China-Africa trade hits $94.4B by April 2023
The General Administration of Chinese Customs released data on trade between China and the African continent on May 17, 2023.
According to these statistics, trade between China and Africa reached 94.4 billion dollars in the first four months of 2023, an increase of 8.9% compared to the same period in 2022. .
“Between January 1 and April 30, 2023, exports from the Middle Kingdom to African countries increased by 26.9% compared to the same period of the past year to stand at 58.9 billion. dollars. Chinese imports from Africa, however, fell by 11.8% year-on-year in the first four months of the current year, being limited to 35.5 billion dollars,” the report said.
The former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Carlos Lopes, quoted by the daily South China Morning Post believes that the fall in the value of Chinese imports from Africa since the beginning of the year 2023 is mainly due to the decline in commodity prices and the drop in demand for minerals, in the context of a less vigorous than expected recovery of the Asian giant’s economy.
“Slower Chinese economic growth due to prolonged lockdowns and geopolitical tensions that disrupted supply chains in 2022 has significantly increased China’s mineral inventories and reduced demand for all commodities, ” he explains.
And to add: ” most Chinese exports to Africa are finished products (textiles-clothing, machinery, electronics, etc.), while African exports to China are dominated by raw materials such as crude oil , copper, cobalt and iron ore, resulting in a trade surplus in favor of China.
However, the Chinese authorities have put in place policies aimed at correcting this trade imbalance .
Recall that in September 2022, China removed customs duties on 98% of products imported from nine (9) African countries including Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda and Togo.
This tariff dismantling followed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 8), held in Dakar in November 2021, of his country’s intention , to increase its imports of African agricultural products.
