Bilateral Trade Analyses Between China and East African Community Countries

Abstract

China had held trade and economic relationships with foreign nations including African countries and members of East African Community (EAC) for a long time. This paper analyses the bilateral trade relationships between China and countries, currently members of EAC (Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan) from 1980 to 2016. Data from International monetary Fund database (Data set: Goods, value of exports, freight on Board, US Dollars) were gathered and analysed using Excel Data analyses tool.  In the context of this paper, Imports stand for trade from China to EAC countries and Exports stand for trade from EAC countries to China. Analyses and results show high exports trade during:  1980-1993 and 1999-2003 for Kenya; 1994-1998 and 2004-2012 for Tanzania; 2013-2016 for South Sudan.  Analyses also show astronomically very high imports in recent years for Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya, running into Billions of US Dollars. Only South Sudan has recorded positive trade surplus against China, because of its strong oil exporting advantage, while the other EAC countries have very high negative trade imbalances with China. It is strongly recommended that value addition to export products of each EAC member country, would improve the bilateral trade relationships between China and the EAC.

Keywords: China; East African Community, Exports; Imports; Trade