Africa’s exports to China have surged since Beijing expanded its zero-tariff policy across the continent in May, as customs data showed signs of emerging trade links in a range of new sectors alongside traditional categories such as critical minerals.
China’s imports from Africa soared by 21.1 per cent and 40.2 per cent year on year in May and June, respectively – outpacing the overall growth in Chinese imports over the same period, customs data showed.
The increase was partly driven by China’s growing hunger for critical minerals, as the world’s second-largest economy invests heavily in clean energy, semiconductors and data centres to power its fast-growing artificial intelligence industry.
Imports of unwrought copper from Africa increased by more than 110 per cent in May from a year earlier to US$1.65 billion, while purchases of strategic minerals such as platinum and spodumene – used to produce batteries and fuel cells – also rose sharply.
Inbound shipments of rhodium powder – another precious metal with a range of industrial applications – surged nearly fivefold in May to surpass US$125 million in value, according to the customs data.
China’s crude oil imports from Africa also rose 21 per cent in May to US$3.11 billion, making it China’s largest import category from the region, as the US-Israel war on Iran continued to disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
But the tariff-free scheme also appears to be opening up new opportunities for African exporters in several other sectors, especially agricultural products.