Africa set to overtake US and Europe in China trade stakes

Trade between China and Africa is set for continued growth in 2013 despite the ongoing global financial crisis. According to Chinese customs data, Sino- African trade value rose 31% to $166.3 billion last year. As of April 2012, China's direct investment in Africa totalled $15.3 billion – a thirty-fold increase from a decade ago – and China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the past three years. Former Chinese viceminister of commerce, Wei Jianguo, recently said he expected China's trade with Africa to hit $220 billion in the next few months, and said it would surpass Sino-American and Sino-European trade over the next five years. According to Wei, in light of China’s ongoing strategic repositioning in the global market, increasing effort is being made to build economic ties with Africa. Organisers of the annual Canton Fair, an import and export fair held every year in Guangzhou in China, the deepening trade ties between China and Africa are not only evidenced by an increase in trade volume but also by the strengthening of countless business relationships and Africa’s growing reliance on the quality and competitive price of China-sourced goods. CAPTION Canton Fair... an import and export fair held every year in Guangzhou in China.