Botswana must exploit Chinese market - Envoy

Speaking in an interview with Business Today, the Chinese envoy said on Friday that Botswana should actively try and penetrate the Chinese market as the traditional markets such as United States of America (US), Europe and Japan are wilting in the wake of the global recession.Because of the economic downturn, diamond exports are expected to drop by over 50 percent, leaving a huge hole in the national treasury, which has been heavily dependent on diamond revenues for a long time.

Ambassador Ding says that that although China has been affected by the crunch, the impact has been minimal compared to other developed countries. As a result, the demand for commodities like diamonds has not plummeted that much.