Chinese Exports to Africa Soar; African Exports to China Up Slightly

 APA News published on 9 June 2025 an article titled "China-Africa Trade Surges 12.4% between January and May."

China's exports to Africa between January and May 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024 increased by 20.2 percent while African exports to China increased by only 1.6 percent.  Africa continues to export raw materials to China while importing manufactured goods from China.

Comment:  This exacerbates a long-standing trend of African trade deficits in the China-Africa relationship and African raw materials exported to China in exchange for value added goods.

China-Africa Trade, Loans, and FDI 2000-2022

 Boston University's Global Development Center posted on 1 April 2024 a report titled "China-Africa Economic Bulletin, 2024 Edition."

The paper provides useful summaries of China-Africa trade, loans, foreign direct investment, and debt from 2000 through 2022.  China's exports to Africa rose steadily throughout the period while Africa's exports to China peaked in 2012 and have been flat ever since, resulting in significant trade deficits for Africa with China.  

Chinese loans to Africa peaked in 2016 at $28 billion and subsequently fell to about $1 billion in 2021 and 2022.  Africa's debt to China was 13 percent of Africa's total external debt in 2022, which was about the same as debt owed to the World Bank and well under the 28 percent owed to bondholders.  

Ethiopia: Chinese Imports Potentially Reduce Female Employment

The Conversation published on 11 January 2024 a commentary titled "Chinese Imports Could Undermine Ethiopian Manufacturing- Leaving Women Workers Worst Off" by Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor, University of Guelph, Ruby Acquah, University of Sussex, and Yohannes Ayele, University of Sussex.

China is the largest source of imports for Ethiopia, including inexpensive manufactured goods.  Lessons from Ethiopia suggest that cheap imports from China reduce the ability of local manufacturing firms to compete.  This, in turn, results in layoffs and lower wages.  The authors conclude that women are the first to be laid off work, but import competition also results in lower wages for men.

China-Africa Trade in 2023 Increases, But Africa's Deficit Grows

 China's General Administration of Customs published on 12 January 2024 global trade figures for 2023.  China's trade with Africa increased 1.5 percent over 2022 to $282 billion, but Africa's trade deficit with China also increased.  Chinese exports to Africa reached $173 billion, an increase over 2022 of 7.5 percent.  African exports to China were $109 billion, a decrease of 6.7 percent.  

Kenya Cracks Down on Under Invoiced Goods from China

 Kenya's Business Daily published on 20 September 2023 an article titled "Kenya Targets Chinese Imports in New Tax Evasion Crackdown" by Dominic Omondi.

Kenya imports most of its finished goods from China.  The government has concluded that the value of most of these products, especially electronics such as mobile phones and computers, have not been accurately priced, leading to huge tax losses.  The government will begin working with tax authorities to determine the true value of "high-risk imports from China."

Kenya's Trade Deficit with China Widens

 Kenya's Business Daily published on 11 April 2023 an article titled "Kenya-China Trade Gap Grows Despite Diplomatic Charm" by Constant Munda.  

Kenya's trade deficit with China has widened for the second year in a row despite aggressive efforts by Nairobi to push Beijing to open its markets.  The deficit grew to the highest level since 2017, rising to $3.62 billion in 2022 from $3.51 billion in 2021.  

Africa's Trade Dilemma: Cheap Chinese Imports or More Expensive Kenyan Products?

 Kenya's Star published on 4 March 2023 a commentary titled "Why Kenya Can No Longer Make the Goods It Used To" by Godfrey Kimega.

A Chinese entrepreneur opened "China Square" shopping mall in Nairobi in January.  It became popular with Kenyan consumers because of its low prices for imported Chinese goods.  Kenyan traders protested, forcing the government to briefly shut down the mall, because the traders could not sell comparable Kenyan products at the same low prices.  The government subsequently allowed "China Square" to reopen.

Comment:  This is an issue playing out across Africa.  The cost of production in Kenya and some other African countries is higher than the cost of equivalent imported Chinese goods (and goods from some other countries).  African manufacturers and vendors are just not able to compete.  Consumers are pleased with the lower prices, but manufacturers and sellers are upset.

Several Countries Dominate China-Africa Trade

 Quartz Africa published on 8 February 2022 an article titled "Trade between Africa and China Reached an All-time High in 2021" by Carlos Mureithi.

In 2021, China-Africa trade reached $254 billion, surpassing the previous high reached in 2015.  However, China continues to maintain a significant trade surplus with African countries and China-Africa trade constitutes less than 4 percent of China's global trade. 

China's trade is also heavily concentrated in a small number of mostly resource rich African countries.  In 2021, more than half of all China-Africa trade (exports and imports) was with South Africa (21 percent), Nigeria (10 percent), Angola (9 percent), Egypt (8 percent), and DRC (6 percent).  More than half of China's exports to Africa went to Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya.  Five African countries--South Africa, Angola, DRC, Republic of Congo, and Zambia--accounted for 71 percent of all exports to China.  

China-Africa Trade Returns to Deficit for Africa

 Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide published on 24 August 2020 an article titled "China's Exports to Its Three Major Trading Partners all Increased by More than 10%."  

During the first half of 2020, China's global import and export trade fell 4.5 percent on a year-on-year basis.  But its trade with Africa fell 18 percent on a year-on-year basis.  More importantly China's exports to Africa from January to July of $59 billion resulted in a 7 percent reduction while imports from Africa at $40 billion constituted a whopping 30 percent year-on-year decrease.  This means the China-Africa trade relationship has returned to a deficit for Africa, $19 billion during the first half of 2020.   

South Sudan: Inflation Compounds Cost of War

This is Africa published on 12 May 2015 an article titled "Inflation Compounds the Costs of War in South Sudan" by Mohammed Qazilbash, Mercy Corps country director for South Sudan. 

He notes that from December 2014 to March 2015, the South Sudanese pound lost about 26 percent of its value.  The official rate for the pound remains 3.1 to the US$1.  The informal rate of the pound rose in mid-April to 8.5 to the US$1.  This imposes additional costs on most South Sudanese who rely heavily on imported goods. 

Africa's Most Strategic Ports

Business Tech published on 8 March 2015 an article titled "Africa's Biggest Shipping Ports."  More than 90 percent of Africa's imports and exports move by sea freight.  The following 7 ports stand out as the most strategic: Durban, Mombasa, Djibouti, Lagos, Abidjan, Suez Canal, and Tangier. 

China-Africa Trade May Reach $200 Billion in 2012

Standard Bank of South Africa announced on 3 December 2012 that total China-Africa trade may reach $200 billion in 2012, up from $166 billion in 2011. China now accounts for 20 percent of Africa's trade and Africa is China's fastest-growing export destination.

China also increased imports from Africa in 2012; most of the increase was oil from Angola. China's imports of African iron ore were flat while imports of copper, steel and aluminum fell sharply.

Click here to read the brief analysis by Standard Bank.