University of Notre Dame China-Africa scholar Joshua Eiseman responded on Twitter to the latest trade data with a prediction that the politics of Chinese trade that have roiled the U.S. and other countries will soon make its way to Africa. 

To date, trade deficits with China have not emerged as a political flashpoint in Africa but it is certainly a possibility, particularly in a country like Kenya where rival factions are now starting to mobilize ahead of presidential elections in 2022. Today, though, the most politically contentious issue related to the Chinese typically relates to high-levels of African indebtedness.