DRC-China trade reached 5.6 billion USD in the first quarter of 2022
Trade between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reached 5.6 billion U.S. dollars, an average growth of 98 percent over the same period of 2021.
These statistics were provided by the Chinese Ambassador to the DRC, Zhu Jing, during an exchange with Congolese media on Friday, April 22, 2022.
The Chinese diplomat believes that with the increase in copper and cobalt production capacity recorded by the country, the DRC is gaining market share in the world, mainly with China. Because, in parallel with the continuous increase in the production of copper and cobalt, there is a constant increase in trade between China and the DRC.
Note that in 2021, trade between China and the DRC reached 14 billion USD. This gives a surplus of 8.8 billion USD.
As for exports from the DRC to China, they increased by 105%, with a trade surplus of 3.5 billion USD, representing an annual growth of 116%.
For the Chinese Ambassador, these are “impressive figures” which testify both to the dynamics of the partnership between the two countries, but also to the share which the Congolese side benefits from in this cooperation.
“According to the figures I checked, in 2021, the DRC was to mobilize 8.3 billion US dollars. During the same year, the trade surplus of the DRC was 8.8 billion USD. This even exceeds the total budget revenue ,” he said.
For the first three months of the year, he added, the DRC has already earned USD 3.5 billion “while the budget for 2022 foresees USD 9.9 billion. This already represents a trade surplus of more than 1/3 of budget revenue. It is therefore a sizeable contribution of Chinese investments to public finances. And that’s not to mention taxes,” the Chinese diplomat observed.
It should be noted that in 2021, the production of Chinese-owned mining companies represents 16% of the Congolese state’s budget revenue. These companies paid 1.3 billion USD in taxes, not to mention other forms of royalties. Whether it is in material or in finances.
“ When China invests in Africa, we are not looking to enrich ourselves at the expense of Congolese friends. We seek shared common prosperity because we would like, through our efforts, to help our Congolese friends find the way to development and prosperity. That is our fundamental objective. said the Chinese ambassador to the DRC.
As a reminder, China and the DRC reestablished their diplomatic relations during a visit by President Mobutu in 1973. And since then, the links between the two countries have always existed. These ties intensified during the Congolese transition, to such an extent that it is now impossible to talk about the reconstruction of the DRC without mentioning China, whose desire to play the leading roles in the reconstruction of the country is well established. .
