China-Africa trade reached a record $282 billion in 2022
Trade between China and Africa has seen double-digit growth over the past year, thanks in particular to rising commodity prices.
Trade between China and Africa reached a record $282 billion in 2022, up 11% from 2021, according to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs.
China’s exports to African countries increased by 11.2% over the past year, reaching $164.49 billion. During the same period, Chinese imports from Africa totaled $117.51 billion. The rise in the value of Sino-African trade in 2022 stems primarily from higher commodity prices, of which the Asian giant is a major consumer.
Most Chinese exports to Africa are finished products (textiles and 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, Chinese authorities have implemented policies aimed at correcting this trade imbalance. Last September, Beijing eliminated tariffs on 98% of imported goods from nine African countries, including Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Togo.
This tariff dismantling follows the announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 8) held in Dakar in November 2021, of Beijing’s intention to increase its imports of African agricultural products. The Chinese leader indicated that the objective was to raise Chinese imports from the African continent to $100 billion per year starting in 2022, and then to $300 billion per year by 2035.
South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade reaching $56.74 billion in 2022. Other major trading partners of the Middle Kingdom on the continent include Nigeria, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. ( Ecofin Agency )
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