Africa-China trade surges 19% in the first half of 2017

Trade between Africa and China reached US$85.3 billion in the first half of 2017 – surging 19 percent year on year as both sides strengthened cooperation in a wide range of areas, official data showed Thursday.

According to Gao Feng – a spokesperson with China’s Ministry of Commerce, the data reversed the negative growth trend since 2015.

During the period January to June, Chinese imports from Africa, including minerals, agricultural products and fruits, amounted to US$38.4 billion, jumping 46 percent from the same period last year, while exports gained 3 percent to US$47 billion.

Transport equipment has become a bright spot in China’s exports to African countries, with that of ships, trains and aerospace equipment up 200 percent, 161 percent and 252 percent respectively, thanks to stronger project construction cooperation.

China became Africa’s largest and most important trading partner in 2009, and the scale of bilateral trade has expanded rapidly ever since.
Trade with the region’s top 3 trading partners – Nigeria, South Africa and Angola – went up 22 percent, 28 percent and 67 percent, respectively in the first 6 months.

In terms of investment, Chinese business non-financial investment in Africa came in at US$1.6 billion in the first 6 months, up 22 percent year on year.