Africa’s trade with China has grown rapidly in recent years

Africa’s bilateral trade with China has increased significantly in the past decade. The value of imports from China of 50 African countries reached roughly $138 billion last year, compared to $88 billion in 2020. The on-year trend in imports has been positive since 2020. Between 2020 and 2024, the value of Africa’s imports from China grew by 57 %, with the highest growth posted in 2023–2024, when the value of imports from China rose by 17.5 %. Likewise, imports from China in Africa’s largest economies showed impressive growth in 2024. The value of South African imports from China climbed last year to $23 billion, up from around $15 billion in 2020. Egypt’s imports from China rose by nearly $5 billion to about $15.5 billion between 2023-2024.

Africa’s imports from China have surged in recent years.

Sources: IMF and BOFIT. Note: Aggregated imports from 50 African countries out of 54 African UN member states (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and South Sudan excluded due to lack of data)

China’s share of total imports is relatively uniform from the perspective of individual African states, but the importance of China for national exports is an entirely different matter. Africa’s total exports to China grew by nearly 62 % between 2020 and 2024, climbing from around $50 billion in 2020 to $81 billion in 2024. Even if China’s significance as an export market for the median African country grew significantly, the real growth booms have been concentrated among a few countries. For example, South Africa’s exports to China rose by nearly 22 % between 2020 and 2024 to nearly $12 billion, and Algerian exports soared by 70 % to $2 billion. In the same period, Morocco’s exports to China ($300 million) rose by about 10 %, while Egypt’s exports ($400 million) declined by about 35 %.

Africa exports more to China than the US

Sources: IMF, World Bank and BOFIT. Note: Aggregated exports of 50 African countries. 

Africa is especially dependent on China for certain types of products such as electrical equipment and machinery. Imports from China account for over a quarter of the total imports of African countries in these product categories. Although African countries import significantly more from China than they export to China, some African exporters have managed substantial gains with China, mainly in raw material markets. Fossil fuels, oil and metallic ores are the most prevalent commodity groups in African exports to China. For this reason, fluctuations in global market prices of commodities significantly influence trends in the value of exports from these countries.

The structure of African exports to China is similar to the structure of Africa’s exports to the rest of the world. For certain commodity groups, however, China is the top destination of African exports. China is the most important export destination for sub-Saharan Africa’s exports of forest products, metals & minerals, pearls, precious stones and oil. The Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Zambia are the biggest exporters to China in the category of metals and minerals. These countries export large volumes of copper, aluminium, nickel and tin to China, while the exports of Angola and Nigeria to China are dominated by fossil fuels. Chinese firms have large holdings in companies involved in mineral extraction, including mining companies. In December 2024, China introduced a zero-tariff policy for goods coming from least-developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China. There are 33 such countries in Africa. This summer the government announced that it was expanding its zero-tariff policy to include all of 53 African nations that maintain diplomatic relations with China.

Imports from China by Africa’s three largest economies well exceed the value of the Chinese exports they purchase

Sources: IMF and BOFIT.