Browsing: China

• Russia war on Ukraine worsening inflation in Europe
• US offers list of commitments to Asia in friend-shoring deal 
• Africa needs to stand up to get a better friend-shoring deal

Balance of power is shifting globally, fueled by the corona pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, pre-existing trade wars between super powers China and US have only worsened; where does this shift of power and political rift leave Africa.

All the fighting is not good for business, unless of course your business is in military contracts. So many nations are, and understandably so, avoiding conflict regions and diverting their supply chains to friendly countries.

This shift in mode of doing business and the related trade channels has earned itself a title, pundits are calling it friend-shoring. It refers to a situation where friendly countries are forming trade alliances allowing for trade to take place along new routes and in so doing, reshaping …

China presently has the largest sum of foreign exchange reserves in the world. When its over US$ 3 trillion in reserves is added to the reserves of the other BRICS member states the questions as to why they cannot issue their own currency start to grow louder.

Talks of a common currency fizzled out as more pressing national and international matters eclipsed the idea. This year 2022 has seen renewed calls for a common reserve currency emerge once again. This time Russia is leading the call for the creation of a reserve currency that will be an alternative to the United States dollar as a mechanism for the settlement of international transactions.

Russia’s motive for making such a call is obvious, the country has been at war with Ukraine since February 2022. This aggression against Ukraine has earned Russia some of the most stringent economic sanctions in history. What has …

The new tariff policy, which took effect on September 1, is applicable to mineral and agricultural imports from Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Eritrea, Djibouti, Mozambique, Guinea, Rwanda, Togo, and Sudan.

It comes on the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s declaration at the China-Africa summit held in 2021 that measures would be taken to increase agricultural imports from Africa.

Xi stated at the time that the goal was to increase continental imports to US$300 billion (€302 billion) in the next three years, ultimately reaching US$300 billion per year by 2035.

Africa, which continues to export raw materials to China, accounts for a small portion of China’s imports.…

The current large-scale transition of the global economy, principally triggered by the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as the standoff between China and the United States, creates a multipolar world map with new centres of power.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, also known as the BRICS nations, have enhanced industrial and financial might and are pushing for a seat at the global new power axis table. These nations are essential participants in international markets for products, services, and money, having a considerable, sometimes decisive, effect on how the global economy operates.…

In 2020, Wool was the world’s 653rd most traded product, with a total trade of US$2.5 billion. Between 2019 and 2020, Wool exports decreased by -31.4 per cent, from US$3.65 billion to US$2.5 billion. Trade in Wool represents 0.015 per cent of total world trade.

Wool is a part of fine or coarse animal hair, horsehair yarn, and woven fabric. They include greasy shorn wool, not carded or combed, Degreased shorn wool, not carded, combed, or carbonize, Carbonized wool, not carded or combed, Degreased wool, not carded, combed, or carbonized, and Greasy wool (other than shorn) not carded or combed. In 2020 the top exporters of Wool were Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

The fastest growing export markets for Wool of South Africa between 2019 and 2020 were China, Eswatini, and Uruguay. In April 2022, South Africa’s Wool exports accounted for up to ZAR205 million, …

To maintain compliance with the standards for the China market, KEPHIS is still conducting audits of farms, packhouses, and fumigation facilities interested in exporting fresh avocado to China. Farms and facilities that comply should also be submitted to GACC for approval.

Following the early January 2022 signing of two treaties to promote bilateral commerce, specifically the sale of avocados and aquatic products from Kenya to China by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian, the export of fresh avocados to China has begun.

Kenya is also preparing to sell black tea to the enormous Chinese market in response to the growing demand generated by the leaf.

According to Kenya’s ambassador-designate to Beijing, Muthoni Gichohi, Kenyan tea is one of the most popular in the East Asian nation, with black tea markets rising due to increased consumption. Some of Kenya’s tea manufacturers have begun collaborating with Chinese marketers …

The promise of industrialization in East Africa has been on an exponential growth trajectory, remarkably transforming the economies of all the thirteen nations in the region.

The root of this massive developmental shift has been the strategic partnerships that countries across the region have engaged in with developed countries, pertinently in Asia. This is well attuned to Africa’s Agenda 2063 on the ‘Africa we want’ set by the African Union (AU), which advocates under its first aspiration, a ‘Prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development’ and ‘A Strong, United, Resilient and Influential Global Player and Partner’ under aspiration 7.

Towards the fruition of both aspirations, countries in East Africa have been forging transformative partnerships aligned to their specific national development goals strengthening trade and bilateral ties with Asian allies largely China, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia and India.

However, China has spearheaded this much-needed development, which continues to pump resources …

• China’s GDP is central to the global economy and especially in Africa
• The Asian country’s economy is integrated with nearly every sphere of global trade from manufacturing to finance and mining
• This means that when China does well economically so do African countries

The AFCFTA will transform Africa if it can be implemented.

China is an integral part of the global economic matrix. The Asian behemoth is responsible for the economic well-being of a litany of countries in the world.

Much of the economic growth enjoyed by numerous countries owes itself to and is sponsored by China’s economic activity either in whole or in part. China’s mass urbanization gave a spark to producers of natural commodities who continue to rely on the Asian country’s appetite for these natural resources for their income.

China went from being a pure-play communist republic to a hybrid capitalistic society of sorts owing to its …

The widespread adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by manufacturing companies the world-over is driving competition and permanently disrupting the playing fields.

According to an article by Cision PRNewswire published on May 11, 2022, the competition for a strong manufacturing industry is a global one, and initiatives to promote and advance manufacturing from other governments include Germany’s “Industrie 4.0”,  France’s “Industrie du Futur,” and China’s “Made in China 2025”.

Japan has planned Society 5.0 (Industry 4.0), targeting its economic and social challenges, such as an aging population, labor shortages, and weak growth through advanced technologies. Germany Industrie 4.0 Initiative aims to create an industry infrastructure fit for sustainable future manufacturing in the country.

Recently, African countries have made promising progress towards industrialization, exhibited in the continent’s strategic framework for leveraging the pan-African drive for achieving inclusive and sustainable development, Agenda 2063.

However, the continent has faced unprecedented disruption over …

In as far as global trade is concerned Africa has a central role to play. So critical is this role that should Africa be absent from the global trade equation the global economy simply will not prosper. Africa’s mining sector offers in 2022 and going forward a real opportunity for expansion.

Africa’s economic transformation will come from its ability to leverage the comparative advantage position its natural resources offer. Africa needs to become the seventh corridor of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). China will be able to enhance its dominance in the global economy if it does more to invest in and develop economic ties with Africa.

Currently the BRI in as far as Africa is concerned restricts the role of Africa to providing access to raw materials.…