BEIJING, Sept. 2 -- China has continued to deepen trade cooperation with African countries in recent years, with a rapid increase in the scale of imports and exports, data from customs authorities showed on Monday.

From 2000 to 2023, trade scale between China and Africa expanded from less than 100 billion yuan (about 14.08 billion U.S. dollars) to 1.98 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 17.2 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

During the January-July period of this year, China-Africa trade rose 5.5 percent year on year to 1.19 trillion yuan, reaching a historical high for the same period, said the GAC.

China's ships, automobiles and wind turbine units exports to Africa increased by 44.8 percent, 35.8 percent and 253.1 percent year on year, respectively, during the period.

Meanwhile, China's imports of sesame, flue-cured tobacco and macadamia nuts from Africa increased by 38.8 percent, 32.7 percent and 106.2 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year.

China has long been committed to deepening economic and trade cooperation with Africa, and the industrial ties between China and Africa have become increasingly close, said Lyu Daliang, an official with the GAC.