| Abstract: |
Trade between the whole of Africa and China (imports and exports summed) grew
from $10.6 billion to $73.3 billion between 2000 and 2007, and between
Sub-Saharan Africa and China from $7 billion to $59 billion over the same
period. China is now Africa's third largest trading partner behind the EU and
the US. The Chinese FDI stock in Africa has grown from $49 million in 1990 to
$2.6 billion in 2006. On the basis of these data, one frequently hears the
claim that China is now a dominant influence in Africa. Here we both evaluate
such claims, and assess what factors underlay this phenomenon. We suggest that
while the annual growth rates of trade and investment flows are high (around
30% per year sine the late 1990's), the levels are still considerably smaller
than such claims might suggest. China in 2006 accounted for only $520 million
of inward FDI compared to a total from all sources of $36 billion, around 1.4%
of total FDI inflows to Africa; and only 8.6% of African exports and 9.6% of
African imports. African interdependence with China thus remains
proportionally smaller than that for most other geographical areas, but is
growing rapidly. Factors behind this growth are discussed in the text. |