Africa: Trade with China reached $156.4 billion in the first seven months of 2023, up 7.4% from the same period of 2022

Trade between China and Africa reached $156.4 billion in the first seven months of 2023, up 7.4 percent from the same period of 2022, according to data released this week. Wednesday, August 23 by the General Administration of Chinese Customs.

Between January 1 and July 31, 2023, exports from the Middle Kingdom to African countries increased by 20%, compared to the same period of 2022, to around 97.8 billion dollars, we said from the same source.

The General Administration of Chinese Customs also indicated that Chinese imports from Africa reached 58.6 billion dollars in the first seven months of the current year, without providing the variation compared to the same period. of the past year.

Most Chinese exports to Africa are finished goods (textiles-clothing, machinery, electronics, etc.), while African exports to the Middle Kingdom are dominated by raw materials such as crude oil, copper , cobalt and iron ore, resulting in a chronic trade surplus in favor of China.

In an attempt to correct this persistent trade imbalance, Beijing in 2022 removed customs duties on 98% of products imported from 18 African countries, including Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda and Togo.

This tariff dismantling follows the announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping, during 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 then indicated that the objective was to increase total Chinese imports from the African continent to 100 billion dollars per year from 2022, then to 300 billion dollars per year by 2035.