China's Commercial Footprint in Africa

Standard Bank of South Africa published on 23 August 2018 an overview titled "Forum for China-Africa Cooperation: Africa Still Solidly in the Crosshairs of China Growth" by Jeremy Stevens.

The paper looks at China's economic engagement with Africa, especially investment and trade. It suggests that China's foreign direct investment in Africa remains small, averaging just over $2 billion annually during the last 15 years. It puts China's total investment stock in Africa at between $50 billion and $60 billion. The study says there may be significantly more--upwards of 30,000--Chinese companies, most of them small and private, in Africa than has been previously reported. It comments on Africa's growing trade deficit with China and predicts that about 30 percent of China's trade with Africa will be settled in renminbi by 2025.