China-Algeria trade increases fifteen-fold

France lost its position as Algeria’s major supplier to China in 2013, according to the latest economic data, Naser al-Tamimi reported for Al-Arabiya on 26 March. The source of the data is not given, so we cannot comment on it. What we can say is that bilateral trade between Algiers and Beijing, according to UN data, has grown almost fifteen-fold in the past 10 years, from $608 million in 2003 to more than $9 billion by the end of 2013. The two countries have established what they call “the comprehensive strategic partnership”.

Algeria is now China’s top trade partner and largest export market in the Maghreb region. Beijing’s trade with Algeria represented over 40% of China’s total trade with Maghreb (nearly $21 billion) in 2013. As we reported last month, Algeria is a lucrative market for Chinese engineering. Latest data show that Algeria is the biggest market for Chinese contractors in Africa, after Nigeria.

A little known feature of Chinese-Algerian trade, possibly because of the prominence given to the establishment of French auto-plants in Algeria, is that China, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), exports more cars to Algeria than any other country. Algeria was China’s top vehicle export destination in 2012 and 2013. Chinese state manufacturer FAW has recently signed a deal to build an assembly plant in Algeria, producing 10,000 vehicles a year. A number of defence industry sources have recently commented on Algeria’s interest, as one of the world’s major arms purchasers, in the possible procurement of Chinese weaponry.

For more news and expert analysis about Algeria, please see Algeria Focus and Algeria Politics & Security.

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