China, Africa embrace closer economic, trade ties

China, Africa embrace closer economic, trade ties

China and African countries have developed closer economic and trade ties with ever-increasing trade volume, diversified commodities and services on both sides, latest data showed.

Trade between China and Africa rose 5.5 percent year on year to 1.19 trillion yuan (about $166.6 billion) between January-July, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive  years, customs data showed.

China-Africa trade reached a record high of $282.1 billion in 2023, up 1.5 percent year on year, showing strong resilience.

In 2023, China's new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products exports to Africa increased by 291 percent, 109 percent and 57 percent year on year, respectively.

Meanwhile, China's imports of African nuts, vegetables, flowers, and fruits increased by 130 percent, 32 percent, 14 percent, and 7 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Specially, China's trade with Africa in intermediate goods posted 6.4 percent year-on-year growth in the first seven months of the year, GAC data also showed.

Trade in intermediate goods between China and Africa accounts for 68 percent of the total value of bilateral trade, helping Africa in its process of industrialization and economic diversification efforts.

During the January-July period, China's exports to Africa hit 697.93 billion yuan, while imports reached 490.89 billion yuan, customs data revealed.

China-Africa trade has grown rapidly as a result of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

"It not only demonstrates the remarkable achievements of China's high-quality economic development, but also plays a significant role in promoting Africa's social development and improving local people's living standards"

Africa's economy is developing rapidly, and the demand for infrastructure raw materials is huge. We hope to establish long-term and stable cooperative relations with more African customers. We will definitely give African customers the greatest support in terms of price, delivery time, service and other dimensions, and hope that the economic cooperation between China and Africa will be more far-reaching.