Economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has shown strong vitality, with trade volume growing rapidly over the past 25 years, according to official data.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Wednesday shows that China’s total imports and exports with African countries rose from less than 100 billion yuan (about 13.9 billion USD) in 2000 to 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, marking an average annual growth rate of 14.2%.
The data comes ahead of the Fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, scheduled to take place from June 12 to 15 in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province.
The GAC also released the 2024 China-Africa Trade Index, which hit a record high of 1,056.53 points. The index uses the year 2000 as a baseline, set at 100 points.
By the end of 2024, China had been Africa’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, and bilateral trade continues to gain momentum in 2025.
According to earlier GAC figures, trade between China and African countries reached a record high in the first five months of this year, growing 12.4 percent year-on-year to 963.21 billion yuan.