Exports from Portuguese-speaking countries to China recorded the best start to the year ever, reaching USD 35 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
This is the highest value for the period between January and March since the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao Forum) began presenting data from the Chinese Customs Service, in 2013.
Exports increased 23.6% in annual terms mainly due to the largest Portuguese-speaking supplier in the Chinese market, Brazil, whose sales grew 25.8%, to USD 29.3 billion, a new record for a first quarter.
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Sales of goods from Angola to China increased 9.6% to 4.32 USD billion, while exports from Portugal rose 5.4% to USD 743.7 million
The datashows that most Portuguese-speaking countries exported more to China, including Mozambique, whose sales rose 26.6% to USD 407.4 million.
Timor-Leste (+1,866%), Cabo Verde (+72.2%) and Guinea-Bissau (+686.7%) also saw exports to China increase in the first quarter of 2024, although none of the three countries sold more than USD 132 thousand in goods.
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Exports from Equatorial Guinea to the Chinese market fell by 12.5%, while sales from São Tomé and Príncipe fell by 92.2%, compared to the period between January and March 2023.
In the opposite direction, Portuguese-speaking countries imported goods worth USD 19.2 billion from China, an annual increase of 12.5% and a new record for a first quarter.
Brazil was China’s largest trading partner in the Portuguese-speaking bloc, with imports reaching USD 16.1 billion, followed by Portugal, which purchased goods worth USD 1.46 billion from China.
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Trade between Portuguese-speaking countries and China reached USD 54.3 billion between January and March, 19.4% more than in the same period in 2023 and a new high for a first quarter.
China recorded a trade deficit of 15.8 billion dollars with the Portuguese-speaking bloc in the first quarter of 2024.
The Macau Forum held its sixth ministerial conference between April 21 and 23, during which the organization’s new action plan until 2027 was approved. According to the document, China and Portuguese-speaking countries want to explore new areas of cooperation, such as the digital economy and the blue economy, in addition to strengthening collaboration in responding to climate change.
