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In a significant move to strengthen economic ties with Africa, China has announced plans to eliminate tariffs on imports from all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations. The announcement was made during a China-Africa cooperation meeting and reinforces China's position as the continent’s primary trading partner, a title it has held for the past 15 years.

The zero-tariff initiative, when fully implemented, would expand on a 2023 agreement that removed import duties on goods from 33 African nations classified as “least developed.” The new policy will now include larger economies like Nigeria and South Africa, further deepening trade ties between Beijing and the continent.

However, Eswatini, the only African country that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, is excluded from the deal. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and does not maintain diplomatic ties with nations that recognize it as independent.

In a joint ministerial statement, Chinese and African officials criticized unnamed countries, widely interpreted to mean the United States, for “disrupting the international economic and trade order” through the unilateral imposition of tariffs. The statement urged Washington to resolve trade disputes based on "equality, respect, and mutual benefit."

This development comes at a time when the U.S. is reevaluating its own trade policies toward Africa. In April, former President Donald Trump’s administration proposed steep tariffs on African imports, including 50% on Lesotho, 30% on South Africa, and 14% on Nigeria. While implementation of those tariffs has been temporarily paused, they cast uncertainty over the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a long-standing agreement that allows duty-free exports from Africa to the U.S.

In 2024, the U.S. imported goods worth $39.5 billion from Africa, some of which came under the AGOA deal. By contrast, Africa exported approximately $170 billion worth of goods to China in 2023, much of it in raw materials such as copper, cobalt, and bauxite, especially from resource-rich countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea.

No specific timeline has been given for when China’s zero-tariff policy will take effect, but the move is expected to significantly boost African exports, offering a potentially more stable alternative to the increasingly uncertain trade environment with the U.S.