November 2008 – Issue 35
Africa‘s trade with China, as it is with most trading economies, is heavily skewed toward resources. Almost eighty percent of Africa‘s export basket to China is made up of just four natural resource commodities. The continent‘s strong GDP growth performance in recent years has been underwritten by demand from China and high commodity and energy prices. But despite the dependence on resources, -trickle down‖ economics is a reality in China with the capital flows into recipient countries resulting in the growth of the African consumer class. There is no better example than this than the retail, mobile telecoms and retail banking sectors that have grown at stellar rates over the medium term.