September 12, 2025
News outlets are confirming what many experts have predicted; namely that the Trump administration’s tariffs are squeezing the flow of products into the United States. The New York Times reports that through August, China exported $141 billion in goods to Africa, while importing $81 billion—numbers courtesy of the Chinese government.
“The swell in exports to Africa, along with record volumes of goods sold to Southeast Asia and Latin America, underscores the resilience of Chinese manufacturers in finding new markets for the products their factories continue to churn out in enormous quantities,” writes Daisuke Wakabayashi. “China has long been the biggest trading partner for the region. But the flow of Chinese-made goods has never been more important as the trade war with the United States rages on and the growth of China’s domestic economy slows.”
The NY Times’ Wakabayashi characterizes the surge in Chinese exports to meet Africa’s industrial needs as staggering. “In the first five months of the year, steel shipments to Africa rose nearly 30 percent,” Wakabayashi writes. “Deliveries for Chinese agriculture, construction and shipbuilding machinery all rose more than 40 percent. In addition, electric motors and generator exports rose more than 50 percent, according to China’s most recent customs data.”
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