Post-pandemic trade reset lifts China–Africa exports to a record $225bn in 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Exports more than doubled in a decade, with trade rising from $92.27 billion in 2016 to $225 billion in 2025, a 144% increase.
  • The largest single jump occurred between 2020 and 2021, when exports surged by more than $34 billion.
  • From 2021 to 2024, exports climbed every year, reaching $178.91 billion before the latest surge.
  • The increase from $178.91 billion in 2024 to $225 billion in 2025 signals a new growth surge after several years of gradual increases.

Exports from China to Africa have grown in two distinct phases over the past decade. Between 2016 and 2020, expansion was gradual, increasing by just over $20 billion across four years. The trajectory changed sharply in 2021, when export volumes surged significantly, lifting trade to a permanently larger scale.

From 2021 onward, export growth settled into steady annual increases before accelerating again in 2025. The latest value of $225 billion reflects not only continued expansion but also a renewed surge, reinforcing the post-pandemic period as a clear turning point in the long-term growth of China–Africa trade.

Source:

National Bureau of Statistics of China, China Global South Project

Period:

2016 - 2025
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