The AfCFTA: An Enabler or Hindrance of China-Africa Trade?

Abstract

China is flooding Africa with its products. This phenomenon is referred to by various scholars and commentators as the “dumping” of cheap manufactured goods on the continent. Using terms such as “zhing-zhongs” in Zimbabwe and “fong-kongs” in South Africa to refer to the inauthentic cheap goods that mostly bear a “Made in China” label, China is said to have influenced the growing unemployment and closing of firms in Africa. This article investigates whether or not the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) enables or hinders trade relations between China and Africa. Admittedly, the agreement is said to be a solution to enabling intra-trade in Africa. This intra-trade is also a positive response to Africans to not rely exclusively on China's manufactured goods but also produce and consume their own products. Through the AfCFTA, it is argued that the “Made in Africa” label will override China's finished goods in the long term. Given that China is not only the world's largest manufacturing hub but Africa's largest trading partner, the implications of China's manufactured goods in Africa is a terrain worth investigating. The article argues that although the AfCFTA is a stepping stone for intra-trade on the continent, the benefits of the agreement will not be realised anytime soon because of various challenges such as limited infrastructure, the affordability of the manufactured goods, and the convenience of having readily available products at the time of purchase.