Trade between China and Africa reached more than $295 billion in 2024, an increase of 6.1% on the previous year, according to a recent report by the Chinese customs administration. We break down the trade between the two continents in infographics.
“New” means more. It’s the term China’s vice minister of customs administration, Wang Lingjun, used to sum up the record increase in his country’s foreign trade in 2024, including commercial exchanges with Africa, which grew by 6.1%.
Trade between the continent and China amounted to $295.5 billion, according to Chinese customs administration figures released this month. For Wang, the increase in trade relations between his country and the rest of the world “consolidates China’s status as the world’s leading exporter.”
Despite this increase, African countries are not among China’s top trading partners. The continent came in just ahead of Oceania ($244.25 billion), while 2024 exports were dominated by Asia, at $6.16 trillion.
Overall, South Africa ranks as China’s leading economic partner on the continent, with $52.4 billion worth of goods purchased. South Africa is ahead of Nigeria with $21 billion; Egypt, with $17.3 billion, came in last.
Strengthening Cooperation
Conversely, China has been Africa’s biggest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and the proportion of Sino-African trade in Africa’s total foreign trade has been rising steadily, according to a report on the development of the New Silk Roads initiative between China and African countries, published in August.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, home to several Chinese multinationals, is now China’s leading supplier. Beijing imported over $21.9 billion worth of goods from the DRC in 2024, an increase of 51%, while Chinese exports to the DRC dropped 3%.
Although the available data do not allow for a precise list of the products imported by China and their origins, customs authorities have provided information on the total amount of its imports. The country imported nearly $132 billion worth of iron ore, for example.
The increasingly close relationship between China and the mining countries is also reflected in the report. Guinea – with which China is working on the Simandou project – recorded a 19% increase in exports to Beijing. Trade between the two countries reached $11.5 billion, of which $7.6 billion were Chinese imports.
