New data shows trade in merchandise between China and Portuguese-speaking countries reached US$161.52 billion in the period from January to September 2023, an almost 3 percent decrease year-on-year, according to reports.
Among Portuguese-speaking countries, Brazil maintained its position as the largest trade partner with US$132.85 billion, followed by Angola (US$16.42 billion), Portugal (US$US6.61 billion) and Mozambique (US$4.04 billion).
Lusophone nations sold US$106.34 billion in goods to China during this nine-month period, a drop of nearly 2 percent year-on-year. The value of China’s exports to Portuguese-speaking countries took a larger drop, down more than 5 percent to US$55.18 billion.
[See more: China’s capital city now counts Brazil as its fourth largest trading partner]
In September, the total value of merchandise traded between China and the lusophone world remained largely stable, increasing by just over 0.6 percent year on year to US$19.71 billion.
Chinese imports from Portuguese-speaking countries reached US$13.36 billion, an increase of nearly 7 percent, while Chinese exports rose 10.37 percent to US$6.359 billion.
China imports totalled US$221.42 billion overall in September, with the US as the largest single-country trade partner and the European Union (including Portugal) as the largest trade partner on a regional basis. Chinese exports for September reached US$299.13 billion. Both figures dropped by more than 6 percent year-on-year.
