African exports to China fall amid weakened demand for minerals despite attempts to rebalance trade
- Observers attribute the 11.8 per cent drop to a subdued Chinese economy, commodity stockpiles and a mining dispute in the DRC
- The decrease comes in spite of Beijing’s pledge to buy more goods from Africa and several deals allowing tariff-free agricultural imports from the continent
China’s imports from Africa fell by 11.8 per cent to US$35.5 billion in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year because of weakened demand for minerals and lower commodity prices – a trend analysts attributed in part to a subdued economic recovery in China and a Congolese mine dispute.
Meanwhile, Chinese exports to Africa rose 26.9 per cent to US$58.9 billion during the same period, thanks to China’s reopening after three years of tough Covid-19 restrictions. According to customs data, two-way trade grew 8.9 per cent to US$94.4 billion during the four-month period.
Carlos Lopes, a professor at the University of Cape Town’s Mandela School of Public Governance and a former executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, said minerals and fossil fuels had typically made up a large proportion of China’s imports from Africa, but the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors had affected the market.
“The slowdown of the Chinese economic growth due to prolonged lockdowns and geopolitical turbulence perturbing the value chains has significantly increased the stocks of minerals in China and reduced demand for all commodities,” Lopes said.