Trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries reached US$45.45 billion in the period from January to March 2023, according to Chinese customs data shared by Forum Macao. The amount represents a 3.77 percent increase year-on-year.
Of the nine Portuguese-speaking countries, trade fell between China and Angola (-23.4 percent), Equatorial Guinea (-18.9 percent), Portugal (-2.8 percent) and São Tomé and Principe (-33.8 percent).
However, trade surged with Cabo Verde (70.8 percent), Mozambique (54.1 percent), Timor Leste (15 percent), Brazil (5.5 percent) and Guinea Bissau (19.9 percent).
Portuguese-speaking countries sold goods worth US$28.34 billion to China in the first three months of 2023 – an increase of 1.8 percent year-on-year, the data shows.
[See more: Brazil’s ambassador to China hails the ‘strong partnership’ between the two nations]
The value of China’s merchandise exports to those countries meanwhile reached US$17.11 billion in the same period, up 7.2 percent year-on-year.
The total value of merchandise traded in March between the parties topped US$16.05 billion, an increase of 8.4 percent from the prior-year period.
The value of China’s merchandise imports from Portuguese-speaking countries reached US$9.56 billion, down 1.2 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese official data.
China sold goods to those countries worth US$6.48 billion in March, an increase of 26.7 percent compared with the previous year.
