Trade between China and Africa is approaching the psychological mark of 300 billion US dollars. In 2024, they reached $295.56 billion, up 4.8% compared to 2023, according to data just published by Chinese customs.
Chinese exports to the continent increased by 3.5% to 178.76 billion dollars while Chinese imports from African countries totaled 116.79 billion dollars, recording an increase of 6.9%.
Reduction of the trade deficit
Africa thus saw its trade deficit with the Middle Kingdom decrease to 61.93 billion dollars last year, compared to 64 billion in 2023. But the structural imbalance characterizing Sino-African trade relations persists. The reduction in the trade deficit essentially results from the increase in the value of raw materials that China imports from Africa, while African countries have been demanding more imports of processed products for several years. During the 9th edition of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Beijing to “work to rebalance its trade relations with the continent by tackling the structure of its imports.”
Quoted by the daily South China Morning Post, Lauren Johnston, specialist in China and Africa and associate professor at the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney, estimates that the increase in Chinese imports from African countries in 2024 is mainly explained by the rise in prices of certain raw materials in high demand by Chinese companies. “The prices of gold, copper, cocoa and coffee have increased. Last year, coffee reached its highest price since 1977, due to a combination of increased demand and poor weather conditions in Brazil and Vietnam,” she points out. China has also increased its sourcing of agricultural products, such as avocados, soybeans, pineapples, chili peppers, cashew nuts, sesame seeds and spices from the continent.
-Chinese exports to Africa are essentially made up of finished products (textiles-clothing, machinery, electronics, etc.), while African imports to the Middle Kingdom are dominated by raw materials such as crude oil, copper , cobalt and iron ore; hence a chronic trade surplus in favor of China.
Par AJ.SEditorial Committee
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