Promoting balanced bilateral trade

During the recently held African Summit in Beijing, some influential African leaders called for a balanced trade relationship between China and the region to narrow the trade deficit and address their trade structure. “One great goal may be narrowing the trade imbalance between China and Africa through increasing imports of agricultural goods and processed minerals,” says Zainab Usman, director of the African Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The volume of foreign trade — hamstrung by unsustainable debt-financed imports and chronic balance of payments problem — can be boosted by balanced bilateral trade. It can provide impetus to much-needed productivity-led economic growth for exports.