Export Conundrum—Depending on China for Prosperity

Many countries’ prosperity increasingly depends on China’s monstrous economic engine and its ravenous appetite for imported resources and commodities. But this could prove to be the proverbial double-edged sword.

As a percentage of GDP, 133 nations around the globe on average saw their exports to China grow 192% between 2009 to 2022. Many countries are so dependent on exporting to China that even a slight downturn there might ravage their economies.

Just look at Africa. Copper exports to China alone accounted for 6% of Zambia’s 2023 GDP. In Angola, crude oil and other exports to China represented 20% of its economy. For South Africa, a large producer of minerals and ores, exports to China comprised 8.5% of its GDP.

Similar stories are playing out globally. Here are just some nations’ major 2023 exports to China and the percentage of GDP derived from that trade:

Southeast Asia – Myanmar (natural gas and minerals), 14.8%; Vietnam (tech-related products and components), 21.2%; and Cambodia (garments and textiles), 4.9%.

South America – Chile (copper), 12.8%; Peru (copper and other ores), 9.5%; and Brazil (soybeans) 5.6%.

Australia – Nearly a tenth (9%) of this developed country’s GDP comes from exports to China, mainly iron ore and coal.

This dependence on China increases the communist country’s influence on the exporting country’s economic and political affairs. Keep in mind that China is also a major creditor in many developing countries, funding infrastructure projects like ports, highways and railways that increase its access to natural resources. This too increases China’s global influence.

While this trade brings newfound prosperity to many countries, it also makes standing up to an increasingly belligerent China even more difficult.