Africa-China trade in 2022 surges, dwarfing commerce with US

Africa’s bilateral trade with China surged to a record high in 2022, highlighting how Beijing’s commercial influence over the continent continues to dwarf that of the United States.
Beijing’s push to promote imports from Africa and rising commodity prices pushed trade up 11% to $282 billion last year. China’s exports to Africa were $164.49 billion, while imports reached $117.51 billion, according to available data. Nigeria is now Africa’s largest importer from China, while South Africa is the biggest exporter, followed by Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Natural resources such as crude oil, copper, cobalt and iron ore made up a large proportion of Africa’s exports to China, while frequently finished goods, such as machinery, electronics and textiles, constituted most of its imports. This resulted in a trade surplus in China’s favor.
The world’s second-largest economy is forecast to grow 4.9% this year, up from the 3% in 2022, which should in turn boost private consumption and assist global supply chains in recovering from Covid-19 lockdowns. In an effort to balance trade, China has implemented a new policy enabling dozens of African nations to begin exporting some goods, including over 8,800 commodities, duty free. Beijing is reportedly aiming to increase African imports to $300 billion by 2025. Last year also saw China grow closer to Africa through mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the China International Import Expo.