Business
China vs. the US in Africa: Who’s ‘Winning?’
In 2011 Africa-China bilateral trade reached US$166 billion, an increase of 300 percent over 2006 figures and China’s direct investments in Africa are now nearly US$15 billion.
The Government of China is estimated to maintain over 150 commercial attachés and associated staff at its embassies in 48 African countries, while “according to a recent report produced by the Brooking Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative, there are currently just five U.S. Commerce Department Foreign Commercial Service Officers in Africa and one is set to leave from the embassy in Ghana this summer.” Furthermore, Chinese President Hu Jintao has made seven trips to Africa, five as head of state and has visited 17 countries.
U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa during 2011 were US$21.1 billion, up 23 percent compared to 2010, and U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa during 2011 were US$74.2 billion, up 14 percent compared to 2010 for a total of US$95.3 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The figure represents just 57 percent of China’s bilateral trade figures.
(More: Growing concern in the United States about China’s growing influence in Africa)
But Washington is obviously looking to improve its “bottom line” — as the USTR’s Office of African Affairs notes, “Sub-Saharan Africa presents many opportunities for U.S. businesses as an emerging market for American exports. Between 2000 and 2010, six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world were in sub-Saharan Africa.”
