China has declared its plan to remove import taxes from all 53 African nations. The action is expected to greatly improve trade links between China and Africa and create new avenues for African exporters.
Representatives from China, 53 African countries, and the African Union Commission convened the high-level event to evaluate the implementation of the agreements made at the 2024 Beijing Summit and to determine the direction of future collaboration.
The proposed zero-tariff policy will be applied to 100% of tariff lines for all African nations with diplomatic ties to China once it is put into effect. Only 33 African nations were previously eligible for the zero-tariff treatment.
According to the China-Africa Changsha declaration, “China is prepared to negotiate and sign the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development to expand the zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries.” “We welcome high-quality African products to the Chinese market.”
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With a record-breaking trade volume of USD 295.6 billion in 2024, China has been Africa’s top trading partner for 15 years running. Bilateral trade reached USD 72.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025 alone, a 2.7% year-over-year growth.
Africa’s exports to China were worth about USD 170 billion (£125 billion) in 2023, underscoring the continent’s increasing significance in China’s international trade policy.
China’s tariff offer is a component of a larger strategic alignment with Africa that involves backing important sectors, including infrastructure development, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, green industry, and security.
It has promised to promote African exporters by improving technical training, customs clearing procedures, and market access procedures in addition to trade facilitation. The nation is also dedicated to supporting the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which seeks to change the continent’s economic environment over the next ten years, and pursuing the ten partnership activities for modernisation.
African leaders have praised China’s long-standing collaboration with Africa under FOCAC as an example of Global South unity. The Changsha Declaration reaffirmed that “the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has become a fine example of the unity and cooperation of the Global South.”
