Total trade between the Portuguese-speaking countries and China continues to break records, hitting US$132.2 billion in the first seven months of 2024. The sum is up 10.2 percent over the same period last year and highest value for the period since Forum Macao, the body overseeing Sino-Lusophone trade relations, began keeping records in 2013.
Chinese imports of goods from lusophone nations also increased by 17.1 percent, a new record for the January to July period, to US$49.3 billion.
The increase in lusophone exports was driven primarily by Brazil, by far the largest economy among the Portuguese-speaking countries, which saw its sales grow by 6.1 percent to US$69.2 billion – a new record for the period.
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Angola came in second, its exports to China increasing 11.8 percent to US$10.4 billion, while Portugal’s jumped 9.2 percent to US$1.75 billion and Mozambique exported US$848.8 million worth of goods to China, a 10.8 percent increase.
Imports of Chinese goods were similarly driven by Brazil, which accounted for more than 84 percent of the total with US$41.6 billion in imports.
Portugal, in a distant second, bought goods worth US$3.6 billion, all of which contributed to a Chinese trade deficit of US$33.5 billion with the lusophone nations.
