Over the past decade China’s trade with Africa increased from USD 100 billion in 2007 to USD 230 billion by the end of 2017. While much of this trade has been dominated by Chinese exports, the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai from 5 – 9 November 2019 marked the practical expression of China’s intention to change the content and balance of its trade with Africa.
As China evolves away from export-led growth towards a mixed consumption-led development model, Africa has been identified as China’s chief source of future beneficiated commodities, industrial and services imports. To this end both the national and provincial governments of China worked to ensure that many of the 150 000 Chinese importers attending the inaugural CIIE arrived with pre-determined import orders to fill.
As such, the CIIE represented a unique opportunity for Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest bank, which is also celebrating a decade-long institutional relationship with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), “to demonstrate the capability of the Africa-China trade corridor that both banks have been striving to build,” says Leon Barnard Chief Executive, Personal and Business Banking, Africa Regions, Standard Bank.
Standard Bank’s extensive investment in building the world’s most advanced trade platform between Africa and China saw the bank take 61 clients from nine African countries to the inaugural CIIE, assisting them secure export contracts with Chinese receivers at the Expo.
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