2015 slow year for trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries

Trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries dropped 25.73 per cent between January and December 2015 to US$9.84 billion (MOP78.85 billion). The information from China’s Customs Bureau was published for the Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, also known as Forum Macau.
This decrease was reflected in a cut in both imports and exports.
Imports fell 27.92 per cent to US$ 6.23 billion and overall exports from China to the eight Portuguese-speaking countries fell 21.62 per cent to US$3.61 billion. Overall trade fell by 25.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2014, resting at US$9.84 billion.
Brazil continues as the largest two-way trading partner of China, with imports and exports between the two countries accounting for US$7.18 billion, reflecting a contraction of 17.37 per cent overall in trade between the two countries. Exports from China to Brazil fell 21.47 per cent, while imports to China from Brazil contracted only 14.61 per cent.
Angola ranked higher than Portugal in overall trade with China among the other Portuguese-speaking countries but registered a staggering 46.84 per cent decrease in overall trade compared to last year. This was divided between a 48.6 per cent drop in imports and a 37.7 per cent drop in exports, compared to the previous year. Exports to China from Angola stood at US$ 372 million, while imports from China stood at US$ 1.59 billion.
Portugal registered an 8.99 per cent drop in overall trade, the smallest loss of the eight countries, with only Timor Leste and São Tomé and Príncipe registering positive gains in trade, rises of 76.5 per cent and 37.9 per cent, respectively.