China has moved to implement the zero-tariff policy on exports from all African countries.
The policy, first announced during the China-Africa summit in Changsha in 2025, will be in place until 30 April 2028. Eswatini is the only African country excluded from the policy because of its ties with Taiwan
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China is Africa’s largest trading partner. In 2025 alone, China-Africa trade hit a record high of $348 billion, according to figures from China’s General Administration of Customs.
Africa’s exports to China are dominated by minerals and raw materials, such as crude oil and metallic ores.
“The expansion of China’s zero-tariff regime could increase African agricultural exports, which will help to elevate rural incomes, improve rural productivity, and ultimately to reduce hunger and poverty,” said Lauren Johnston, a senior research fellow at the AustChina Institute who is quoted by the BBC.
China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that the zero-tariff policy will lend a competitive edge to African products such as cocoa from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, coffee and avocados from Kenya, and citrus fruits and wine from South Africa, which used to face tariffs ranging from 8 percent to 30 percent, the State Council, the People’s Republic of China reported.