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00:00We've been talking a lot about the impact that terrorists are having on the direction of global trade. And of course, China very much in focus. Clearly, they're looking for new markets. One of those new markets appears to be Africa. Absolutely, Jomana. And you can see that as that trade war in force between China and the US, demand for Chinese goods in that American market is declining -30%. But on the other hand, there's an influx in Africa. On track to hit 60%. And this just fix to China's broader effort to seek alternative markets, to diversify their export markets. And they're winning big in Africa. Sales have jumped 25% to $122 billion. And this is bigger than the whole of 2020. And on track to hit $200 billion for the first time ever on the African continent. And there are some markets in Africa that are driving this demand. You have Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and for a couple of reasons, the UN is weaker, which is making Chinese exports affordable in the African continent. But there's also growing demand for infrastructure and we are seeing this demand coming through in goods like construction material, which has jumped 60%. Then you have mobility, passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles. But also very interesting in energy, you have demand for batteries, you have demand for transformers and also solar panels, which have jumped 60%. And this just speaks to how shrewd of businessmen. Chinese said they see an opportunity. They jump on it. But there's also fear of transshipment, where Africa risks becoming China's global trade corridor in a bid to bypass those American tariffs for their goods. Yeah. Though the Americans are certainly keeping a close eye on those trans shipments, as in the case of other Asian economies when there is a penalty applied. Let me just ask you, is all of this interest from China on Chinese exports hitting the African continent actually welcome? Jomana, they are welcome and particularly with open arms, because the relationship between Africa and China has always looked like it's symbiotic and mutually beneficial. If you look at FOCAC $50 billion that's pledged of a period of three years. There things to show the Belt and Road Initiative, the SDR. China has not been shy of opening its place and putting money on the African continent. They are talking about converting US denominated debt into Chinese debt, and this could benefit countries like Kenya, Angola, Ethiopia that are heavily exposed to Chinese debt. But there's also something to be said about China's efforts to increase trade with Africa. They've scrapped tariffs on some African goods. 19 African countries will be able to export the agricultural goods to China. And this is exposing African goods to the world's largest consumer market. However, the challenge is that if you look at trade deficit, the value of Chinese exports to the African continent vis a vis what Africa is selling, there you can see a huge disparity in terms of numbers and pricing. There's also concerns about Chinese goods coming to the African continent overcrowding, and this could choke local industries. So in summary, you see an opportunity for China to explore new markets, particularly because the American door close, a new window has opened in Africa, but the continent has to balance between immediate gains and long term effect. Yeah. Bloomberg Sun zero, Ganga in Kigali, Rwanda. Thank you so much. And for more stories like this from the continent, be sure to subscribe to the next Africa newsletter on the terminal and our website. You can listen to the latest news on our Web weekly podcast available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Africa New Hotspot for Chinese Exports

The US trade war has supercharged a trading boom between Africa and China that was years in the making, spearheaded by President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative unveiled in 2013. Bloomberg's Ondiro Oganga reports from Kigali. (Source: Bloomberg)

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