China has continued to deepen trade cooperation with African countries in recent years, with a rapid increase in the scale of imports and exports, data from customs authorities showed on Monday.

From 2000 to 2023, the trade scale between China and Africa expanded from less than 100 billion yuan (about 14.08 billion US dollars) to 1.98 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 17.2 per cent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

During the January-July period of this year, China-Africa trade rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year to 1.19 trillion yuan, reaching a historical high for the same period, said the GAC.

China’s ships, automobiles and wind turbine units exports to Africa increased by 44.8 per cent, 35.8 per cent and 253.1 per cent year on year, respectively, during the period.

Meanwhile, China’s imports of sesame, flue-cured tobacco and macadamia nuts from Africa increased by 38.8 per cent, 32.7 per cent and 106.2 per cent, respectively, compared to the previous year.

China has long been committed to deepening economic and trade cooperation with Africa, and the industrial ties between China and Africa have become increasingly close, said Lyu Daliang, an official with the GAC.