Trade between China and the world’s Portuguese-speaking countries topped US$225 billion in 2024, up 1.95 percent over the previous year, according to Forum Macao.
Using data from China Customs Service, the Sino-Lusophone trade platform reported that the trading partners closed the year with total trade of US$16.59 billion in December, down 20.61 percent over 2023. While Chinese exports rose 5.57 percent compared with the previous year, hitting US$6.75 billion, the increase was not enough to counter a 32.14-percent drop in imports from lusophone nations, down to US$9.85 billion.
At the same time, the weaker showing in December was not enough to undermine the nearly 2-percent increase for the entire year over 2023, bringing total trade to US$225.18 billion for the period from January to December 2024.
Exports from lusophone countries fell by 5.3 percent in 2024 to US$139.7 billion, driven in large part by reduced exports from Brazil, China’s largest trade partner in the bloc. Brazilian exports, which accounted for more than 80 percent of total PSC exports to China last year, fell by 5.2 percent to US$116.09 billion.
[See more: China’s trade surplus in 2024 reached almost US$1 trillion]
Exports from Angola, the second largest, also fell, dropping 6.7 percent to US$17.64 billion.
Portugal saw the biggest increase at 8.9 percent, for a total of US$3.17 billion in goods, while Mozambique saw a more modest 1-percent growth to US$1.81 billion and Equatorial Guinea fell 28 percent to US$981.74 million.
Chinese exports proved strong, rising 16 percent over 2023 figures to reach US$85.5 billion, the highest figure since Forum Macao began presenting trade data in 2013. Brazil was the biggest buyer, importing US$72.08 billion in Chinese goods, up 21.9 percent year-on-year. Portugal was the second-largest buyer at US$6.11 billion, followed by Mozambique (US$3.38 billion), Angola (US$3.24 billion) and Timor-Leste (US$265.55 million).
Despite these gains, and the drop in PSC exports, China recorded a trade deficit of US$54.2 billion with the bloc in 2024.
