Trade between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries fell 12.25% year on year from January to July 2016 to US$51.5 billion, according to official figures released by the Macau Forum.

In this period China sold to the eight Portuguese-speaking countries goods worth US$15.76 billion (-30.84%) and imported goods from these countries amounting to US$35.73 billion (-0.44% ), leading to a deficit of US$19.97 billion.

Trade with Brazil in the first seven months of the year reached US$38.23 billion (-9.36%), while China sold goods to Brazil worth US$11.60 billion (-33.79 %) and bought goods from Brazil worth US$26.63 billion (+8.0%).

China’s trade with Angola amounted to US$9.0 billion (-27.69%), as a result of Chinese sales of US$942 million (-60.64%) and imports of Angolan products in the amount of US$8.050 billion (-19.84%).

Portugal came in a distant third place with trade worth US$3.14 billion (+ 23.13%), after importing Chinese goods worth US$2.34 billion (+ 41.21%) and selling goods in the amount of US$799 million (-10.46%).

Chinese trade with Mozambique totalled US$995 million in the period (-28.92%), with Chinese exports worth US$755 million (-33.49%) and Mozambican exports of US$239 million (-9.23%).

China’s trade with other Portuguese-speaking countries – Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Guinea-Bissau, Timor-Leste (East Timor) and Sao Tome and Principe – reached US$124 million in the first seven months of the year.

In July, trade between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries amounted to US$9.8 billion, an annual increase of 9.52%, with Chinese sales worth US$2.82 billion (+12 34%) and purchases in the amount of US$6.98 billion (+ 8.42%). (macauhub/AO/BR/CN/CV/GW/MZ/PT/TL/ST)