Browsing: China

BRICS nations championing the de-dollarization of international trade.

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.…

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Relief as China Lifts Import Ban on South African Wool products. www.theexchange.africa

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, …

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 Sneezes Will Africa Catch A Cold
  • 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…

ALBERT Digital Manufacturing in Africa 2022. Pic1

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…

Investment in Africa Risky but Rewarding

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.…

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Chinese companies investment Tanzania
  • China is one of Tanzania’s biggest trade partner
  • Tanzania’s industrial economy has been growing over the past decade
  • Tanzania has nabbed US$3 billion investment from China company

Investment in Tanzania is changing the labour market and industries in Tanzania for the better.

The government of Tanzania is doubling down on expanding its industrial complex as the new industrial scheme stands to draw around 100,000 direct jobs and 300,000 by 2025 and change Tanzania economy for good.

Tanzania’s industrial economy is slated to expand twelve-fold in the next three years, adding more support to the minor industrial landscape currently operating nationwide, while expanding the list of reasons to invest in Tanzania.

Industries in Tanzania have become a critical component of economic transformation.  Tanzania has more than 62,000 small industries which add value to raw materials extracted internally.

READ: Tanzania bagging billions in natural gas investments

According to the Ministry of Investment, …

US-Ghana Trade Relations: Symbiotic or exploitative? www.theexchange.africa

Many exports from Ghana to the US benefit from duty-free tariff preferences under the American Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. Exports from Ghana to the US that have enjoyed AGOA preferences include yams, apparel and cocoa (beans, powder or paste).

Ghana has exported US$131 million worth of yams to the US since 2012, avoiding a standard import duty of 6.4 per cent under AGOA. Cocoa exported to the US has amounted to US$2.5 billion over the last two decades.

Miss Rosa Whitaker, the President and the CEO of the Whitaker Group (TWG), is significant to the success of AGOA in Africa, facilitating the export of over 9,000 agricultural and manufactured goods to the United States.

Whitaker advocates for African countries to research what the US market is demanding and be alert to new opportunities. She pointed out the success of Ghana’s cocoa…

Consequently, China has carefully abandoned its strong preference for bilateral dealing with problem debtors. The Chinese state avoids being a rule-taker compared to the West on debt issues. Still, it increasingly appears to recognize that multilateral approaches – ideally on an ‘a la carte’ basis – can help contain both the pressures on its African partners and its challenges.

China, therefore cautiously supported the DSSI for some African nations when it came to effect in April 2020, and similarly, the Common Framework launched in 2021. However, the slow implementation of the Common Framework brings to light four specific challenges linked to China’s role.  

First is China’s discomfort with the independent and central role played by the IMF in controlling how much a country can afford to pay through its debt sustainability analysis (DSA). Second is the alarm of privates, and public sector lenders in the West over a lack of …

Critics allege investment in East Africa oil exploration is not sound investment and endangers the environment. www.theexchange.africa

As would be expected, Total rebutted the claims. Its first move was to make public the related project social and environmental studies and issue a statement in which it pledged transparency.

The company admits that; “The projects for the development of the oil and gas resources of the Lake Albert region and the cross-border pipeline are situated in a sensitive social and environmental context that requires special measures for the environment and the rights of the local communities.”

In a follow-up statement, the investors maintained that; “All the partners are committed to implementing these projects in an exemplary manner and taking into highest consideration the biodiversity and environmental stakes as well as the local communities’ rights and within the stringent environmental and social performance standards of the International Finance Corporation.”…