But a quite different picture emerges when this is seen through a broader prism – the ties between Africa and Europe as a 28-nation bloc. “Europe is in front, given the shared history,” said Pierre Dagbo Gode, professor of political science at the Felix Houphouet Boigny University of Abidjan. According to the Chinese ministry of commerce, trade between China and Africa was worth $149.2 billion last year – $92.3 billion in exports from China, against $56.9 billion of imports. That made China, for the eighth year, Africa’s foremost individual trade partner – well ahead of France and Germany. Europe also contributed some 21 billion euros in foreign aid – more than the United States and China combined.

Source: The Express Tribune November 28, 2017 11:48 UTC