China announces zero tariffs for 53 countries!!

On June 11th, the ministerial meeting of the coordinators for the implementation of the results of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation was held in Changsha, Hunan. In the “Changsha Declaration on Safeguarding Global Southern Unity and Cooperation between China and Africa” released by Xinhua News Agency, it was stated that “China is willing to implement a 100% tariff free policy for all 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations through the signing of economic partnership agreements for common development, and welcomes high-quality African goods to enter the Chinese market
This is another historic breakthrough in China’s opening-up policy towards Africa, following the implementation of zero tariffs on 33 African least developed countries in December 2024. Previously, China had announced that it would grant 100% tariff free treatment to all least developed countries, including 33 African countries, that have established diplomatic relations with China.
This time, among the 20 countries added, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria are the top four economies in Africa, while the rest are mainly concentrated in North Africa and Southern Africa. Since 2005, China has been implementing duty-free treatment for some of the goods exported to China from the least developed countries in Africa, and this treatment has continued to expand and evolve since then.
For African countries, in the current complex international trade environment, exports to the United States and the European Union are under pressure, and the doors to traditional export markets are becoming smaller and smaller. In this context, they also hope to achieve export diversification and expand their market share in China.
Since last year’s Beijing Summit, China has increased its investment in Africa by over 13.3 billion yuan and provided a total of over 150 billion yuan in financial support to Africa. In the first five months of this year, China’s imports and exports to Africa reached 963 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%, setting a new historical high for the same period.
In recent years, under the guidance of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, China Africa relations have achieved a leapfrog development. China has achieved full coverage of strategic partnership with all African countries that have established diplomatic relations, and China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. With the full implementation of the zero tariff policy, China Africa economic and trade cooperation is moving towards a higher stage of high-quality development.