In general terms, this is the highest value for the period between January and March since the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao Forum) began presenting this type of Service data of China Customs in 2013.
Exports increased 23.6 percent in annual terms mainly due to the largest Portuguese-speaking supplier in the Chinese market, Brazil, whose sales grew 25.8 percent, to 29.3 billion dollars, a new high for a first quarter.
Sales of goods from Angola to China increased 9.6 percent to 4.32 billion dollars, while exports from Portugal rose 5.4 percent to 743.7 million dollars.
The data, released on Thursday, shows that most Portuguese-speaking countries exported more to China, including Mozambique, whose sales rose 26.6 percent to 407.4 million dollars.
Timor-Leste (+1,866 percent), Cape Verde (+72.2 percent) and Guinea-Bissau (+686.7 percent) also saw exports to China increase in the first quarter of 2024, although none of the three countries has sold more than 132 thousand dollars worth of goods.
Exports from Equatorial Guinea to the Chinese market fell by 12.5 percent, while sales from São Tomé and Príncipe fell by 92.2 percent, compared to the period between January and March 2023.
In the opposite direction, Portuguese-speaking countries imported goods worth 19.2 billion dollars from China, an annual increase of 12.5 percent and a new record for a first quarter.
Brazil was China's largest trading partner in the Portuguese-speaking bloc, with imports reaching 16.1 billion dollars, followed by Portugal, which purchased goods worth 1.46 billion dollars from China.
In total, trade between Portuguese-speaking countries and China reached 54.3 billion dollars between January and March, 19.4 percent more than in the same period of 2023 and a new maximum for a first quarter.
China recorded a trade deficit of 15.8 billion dollars with the Portuguese-speaking bloc in the first quarter of 2024.
The Macau Forum held its sixth ministerial conference between 21 and 23 April, during which the organization's new action plan until 2027 was approved.
According to the document, China and Portuguese-speaking countries want to explore new areas of cooperation, such as the digital economy and the blue economy, in addition to strengthening collaboration in responding to climate change.
