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.