Twenty more African countries, mostly from the continent’s middle-income nations, are set to gain access to the world’s largest consumer market duty-free as Beijing plans to remove tariffs for all products from every African nation except eSwatini.
The measure was announced as African ministers joined Beijing at a meeting in central China affiliated with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Amid the tariff war, representatives from China and African nations accused the United States of disrupting the global economic and trade order and harming the collective interests of the international community.
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Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off
Trump and Xi discuss Taiwan, troubled US-China trade ties in call breaking stand-off
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a letter presented to the meeting in Changsha in Hunan province on Wednesday, said China was willing to extend zero-tariff measures to 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to China for all items.
Only eSwatini – the sole African nation that supports Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province – is excluded from the measures.
The plan expands on the policy announced at the 2024 FOCAC summit in Beijing which granted 33 least-developed African countries (LDCs) – such as Uganda and Ethiopia – zero-tariff treatment.
Xi said China would “provide more convenience for the least developed countries in Africa to export to China”, according to a readout released by China’s foreign ministry.
