Trade between China and Africa increased last year to a record $282 billion. While this could be attributed to the increase in prices of essential commodities, industry experts believe new Chinese policies helped achieve this level of growth. South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the country’s new initiatives to import more African produce played a crucial role in last year’s growth, which surged 11% compared to 2021. “While Africa mainly exports raw materials, it tends to buy finished products from China such as machinery, electronics and textiles, resulting in a trade surplus in China’s favour,” according to the Chinese news agency. The initiatives, which mainly aim at correcting the trade imbalance between the two economies, included opening ‘green lanes’ for African agricultural exports and offering $10 billion in trade finance. In addition, China allowed exporters in several African countries, such as Ethiopia and Uganda, to export their products duty-free. Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s department of African affairs, posted on social media, “China and Africa have complementary advantages in resources. We’ll keep promoting ‘green lanes’ for African agricultural exports and benefit both people.” Multiple agreements were concluded between China and African countries to expand imports and exports beyond raw materials. In 2020, Tanzania started exporting soybeans to China. The Chinese government has also agreed to import fruit, coffee, roses and even beef from several African nations. China’s exports to Africa totalled $164.5 billion, and imports from Africa reached $117.5 billion last year. The China-South Africa trade alone grew 5% in 2022 year-on-year to reach $56.7 billion. Research Fellow at the International Economic Development Group, Linda Calabrese, told SCMP that the China-Africa trade has grown steadily since 2016. “From what I can see now, we can expect a reopening of China’s economy in 2023, and with that, a continued increase, or even an acceleration, in China-Africa trade,” added Calabrese.