China’s trade surplus with the continent surged by 64.5% to a record US$102 billion, reports the South China Morning Post, citing China customs figures.
The jump in the trade gap–up from US$62 billion the previous year–was driven by a 25.8% surge in Chinese exports to the continent to $225 billion, far outpacing the 5.4% growth in African shipments to China to $123 billion, according to the latest data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
Lauren Johnston, a China-Africa specialist and senior research fellow at the AustChina Institute, told the Post that the sharp increase in China-Africa trade might be driven by pressure on China’s exports to other regions. In particular, tensions with the US, the world’s largest importer, were propelling Chinese firms to find new export markets, she said.