China to become Afghan’s second-largest trade partner in 2023

China’s trade with Afghanistan has been growing fast and it may become the second-largest trading nation with Afghanistan in 2023 after Pakistan, a situation that bodes well for the continuation of the CPEC part of the Belt & Road Initiative into Afghanistan, as per Silk Road Briefing (SRB).

Silk Road Briefing provides global and regional intelligence to assist and monitor infrastructure, geopolitical, and structural developments, along with foreign investment opportunities along China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

According to China customs data, in December 2022, China imported goods worth $9.09 million from Afghanistan and exported goods worth $59 million, resulting in a positive trade balance for China of $49.9 million, SRB reported.

If these figures are projected as the 2023 average, then this would result in a bilateral trade figure of $816 million. Pakistan, currently the largest Afghani trade partner, achieved bilateral trade of $1.513 billion in 2022, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

India, which has been in second place, had bilateral trade with Afghanistan of $545 million last year, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce.

Between December 2021 and December 2022, Chinese exports increased by 56.4 percent but imports slightly decreased by less than 1 percent. In December 2022 the top exports from Afghanistan to China were nuts, animal hair, semi-precious stones, dried fruits, and vegetable products.

In December 2022, the top exports of China to Afghanistan were synthetic filaments, yarn-woven fabrics, rubber tires, other synthetic fabrics, semiconductors, and unknown commodities, SRB reported.