China’s Exports to Africa Are Soaring as Trade to U.S. Plunges
Already this year, China’s trade surplus with Africa is nearly as big as all of 2024, a sign of how President Trump’s tariffs are reshaping the flow of goods.
Sept. 8, 2025
China has racked up a $60 billion trade surplus with Africa so far in 2025, nearly surpassing last year’s total, as Chinese companies redirect trade to the region while President Trump’s tariffs crimp the flow of goods into the United States.
Through August, China exported $141 billion worth of goods and services to Africa, while importing $81 billion, according to data released by the Chinese government on Monday. The widening trade imbalance with Africa stems from surging exports of Chinese-made batteries, solar panels, electric vehicles and industrial equipment.
The swell in exports to Africa, along with record volumes of goods sold to Southeast Asia and Latin America, underscores the resilience of Chinese manufacturers in finding new markets for the products their factories continue to churn out in enormous quantities.
China has long been the biggest trading partner for the region. But the flow of Chinese-made goods has never been more important as the trade war with the United States rages on and the growth of China’s domestic economy slows. In August, China’s exports to the United States plunged 33 percent while those to Africa grew 26 percent.
The boom in trade to Africa is apparent on the streets of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.
In a bustling neighborhood full of electronics shops, most of the solar panels crowding the interior of nearly every storefront had one thing in common. They were made in China.
One shop owner, Mwiine Joseph, said Chinese solar panels had edged out rival offerings from Europe and India over the last decade. He estimated that nearly 99 percent of the solar brands on offer were made in China. At the end of the day, the products from China could not be beaten on price.
“I only look for cheap solar to sell if I am to compete with others in the market,” said Mr. Mwiine, 38. “This is what the Chinese are giving us.”
It was not just the solar panels. Nearly everything in the small and crowded electronics shop, from lightbulbs to generators, was also made in China.
For more than a decade, China has invested heavily in building infrastructure throughout the continent as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. The projects have deepened Beijing’s influence across Africa, creating business opportunities for Chinese companies and providing access to valuable raw materials.
This year, the Trump administration has gutted foreign aid to Africa, leaving a host of health and development initiatives in limbo. It also targeted many African countries with tariffs, including a 30 percent duty on goods from South Africa.
A meeting between Kenya and China on Belt and Road cooperation in Beijing last year.Credit...Pool photo by Wu Hao
Mr. Trump initially threatened a
50 percent tariff on imports from Lesotho, forcing the textile-dependent country to declare a national state of disaster. The rate was reduced to 15 percent, which is still expected to hurt Lesotho. It was among nearly two dozen African countries that had sent certain products to the United States without any import taxes under a law passed by Congress in 2000
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As the United States pulls back from Africa, China is presenting itself as an economic counterbalance. In June, Beijing said it would waive nearly all tariffs for 53 African countries. China was sending a message: It was committed to nurturing a fruitful, mutually beneficial relationship with Africa.
Xinhua, China’s main state-run news agency, claimed in an editorial in January that China had created more than one million jobs in Africa in the last three years, while helping the region build roads, railways, bridges and ports over the previous quarter-century.
What Beijing portrays as a marriage of convenience is most apparent in the solar energy sector. Although China dominates all aspects of the industry, Chinese solar companies are struggling to survive, plagued by cutthroat competition and overproduction that has driven down prices and eroded profitability. However, plummeting prices have spurred a solar energy boom in Africa, where there is a desperate need for energy.
As a result, solar is “taking off” in Africa, according to Ember, an energy tracking group. Solar panel imports from China rose 60 percent in the last 12 months, and 20 African countries imported a record amount over that period, Ember said.
In Uganda, many Chinese solar manufacturers have established distribution offices in Kampala, allowing retailers to obtain products quickly and avoid the hassle of importing them from China.
Walter Cuccu, managing director of W. Water Works, a water and solar energy installation company, said Chinese solar companies were prevalent in Uganda and were setting up branches across the continent. He said more than eight Chinese companies had distribution centers in the city.
He said the companies were competing aggressively with one another, driving down prices. He estimated that solar panel prices had fallen 40 percent over the last 12 months.
Mr. Cuccu said European competitors were not investing in the sector in Africa like the Chinese firms.
“They will discover when it’s too late that the Chinese have already taken over,” he said.
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It’s not just clean energy. The surge in Chinese exports to meet Africa’s industrial needs is staggering. In the first five months of the year, steel shipments to Africa rose nearly 30 percent. Deliveries for Chinese agriculture, construction and shipbuilding machinery all rose more than 40 percent. In addition, electric motors and generator exports rose more than 50 percent, according to China’s most recent customs data.
For consumer products, the gains are equally eye-opening. Chinese exports of automobiles rose 67 percent in the first five months of 2025, including a doubling of shipments in May alone. China already dominates other key sectors: Four of Africa’s five biggest smartphone brands are Chinese, with Huawei and Xiaomi tallying the biggest market share gains this year.
For years, African leaders have expressed concern about what they perceive as a lopsided relationship with Beijing, with China devouring Africa’s natural resources while flooding the market with its manufactured goods.
The deluge of Chinese exports puts African countries in a hard spot, threatening to undermine their efforts to develop high-value industries of their own. Yet policymakers feel they must stay in China’s favor, said David Omojomolo, Africa economist for Capital Economics.
“China is really the only game in town,” he said.
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