R. I. TOMBERG Postgraduate student of IMEMO RAS Keywords: China, Africa, economy, investment, raw materials, global crisis One of the primary goals of Chinese companies ' foreign economic expansion is Africa, which is rich in natural resources. Thanks to certain mechanisms of interaction (construction of large infrastructure facilities, development of comprehensive cooperation through the state line, exchange of high-level delegations) The PRC occupied a niche vacated after the Soviet Union left Africa. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION In the 1950s, developing countries, mostly Asian, accounted for a small share of China's foreign trade. Beijing's economic ties with the African continent were practically limited to trade with Egypt, Morocco, and Sudan. In the 1960s, the share of trade with developing countries1 increased (to about 20% of China's total foreign trade at the end of the decade), as did the share of African countries (about 25%). This growth was largely due to the beginning of China's economic assistance to African countries. A significant part of it was represented by commodity loans. In the first half of the 1970s, China's economic ties with Africa increased markedly, and the continent's share in China's trade with developing countries (slightly less than $2 billion). in the middle of the decade) reached 30%. China's main partners are Tanzania, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Nigeria. China's exports to Africa consisted mainly of manufactured consumer goods, machinery and equipment (textiles, paper and wood processing equipment, agricultural implements), rice, tea, canned meat and fish. Imports were dominated by raw materials: cotton, phosphates, copper, wood, as well as bananas and coffee. The trade balance was formed with an asset in the PRC, part of which was repaid in a convertible currency. During the first decade of reform and opening - up (1978-1988), the share of African countries in China's foreign trade declined significantly. The reason for ... Read more