With all the concern in most Western countries about offshoring to China, product quality/safety issues, etc., many are overlooking China's growing economic focus on and trade ties with developing nations.

Perhaps surprisingly, China actually exports about the same level of goods to developing nations as it does to industrialized ones, as shown in the graphic below; it also imports substantially more from those countries than industrial economies.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Some believe this strategy of courting developing countries for trade and the resulting reduction in China's reliance on developed economies for exports is a key factor in why China was content to let the Doha global trade agreement talks die last week in Geneva. (See Doha Trade Agreement Looks Dead, After Seven Years of Efforts.)

"China's trade with other emerging markets -- from Asian neighbors like Indonesia and Malaysia to the Persian Gulf and Africa -- has been booming, even as its exports to the U.S. have slowed sharply this year," the Wall Street Journal says. "China has been particularly active in developing economic ties with Africa, with its companies building infrastructure projects there and striking large mining deals."

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