China Updates 2022 Africa Trade Figures

File image of workers at the port of Qingdao in eastern China load vehicles aboard a cargo ship bound for Africa.

Chinese customs authorities are slowly releasing new trade data for individual African countries following its January announcement that trade with the continent rose by 14.5% to $276.8 billion. Country data is similarly higher than in 2021.

China’s Trade with Key African Countries:

  • SOUTH AFRICA: China’s trade with South Africa climbed by 8.5% to $55.8 billion. $32 billion of this number were exports from South Africa (up 2%).
  • ANGOLA: Trade with Angola reached $26.7 billion, a rise of almost 20%, largely due to high oil prices.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The trade figures show that Chinese trade with Africa remains largely focused on extractives. In addition to Angola (oil and diamonds) and South Africa (manganese, diamonds and iron ore), the 51.7% jump in exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo (copper and cobalt) confirms this trend.

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by Cobus van Staden

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