Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that Beijing will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China starting May 1, 2026, marking a significant expansion of market access for African exports.
In a goodwill message to the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Xi also confirmed that China will also accelerate negotiations and the signing of agreements on Economic Partnership for Shared Development. He added that Beijing will further upgrade the “green channel” and introduce additional measures to ease entry for African goods into the Chinese market.
Xi described the move as part of China’s broader high-level opening-up strategy, stating that the measures would create new opportunities for Africa’s development and support the joint pursuit of modernization.
The Chinese president reaffirmed his nation’s readiness to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and advance what he termed an “all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future.”
The announcement builds on commitments made last year in Changsha, where China declared its intention to extend zero-tariff treatment to African countries maintaining diplomatic ties with Beijing. It also reflects progressive steps taken under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which marks its 26th anniversary this year.
Through FOCAC, China has streamlined inspection and quarantine procedures via a dedicated “green channel,” facilitating agricultural exports from Africa. This framework has enabled more African products to gain access to China’s consumer market.
During the 2024 FOCAC Summit in Beijing, China announced that it would extend zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff lines for products originating from least developed African countries. Beijing later said it was ready to formalize a Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development, granting comprehensive duty-free access to all 53 African diplomatic partners. The May 2026 implementation consolidates these incremental commitments into a continent-wide policy shift.
Xi noted that China and Africa have maintained close diplomatic ties for 70 years, consistently advancing cooperation. He observed that the Global South is gaining influence amid accelerating global changes and commended the African Union for promoting integration and safeguarding the continent’s interests.
He emphasized that, despite global turbulence, China remains committed to global peace, shared development, and strengthening multilateral cooperation.
The latest tariff decision is expected to enhance Africa’s export competitiveness, widen market access, and support industrial and agricultural value chains by reducing trade barriers into one of the world’s largest consumer markets. The policy will be viewed as reinforcing long-term China-Africa trade integration and expanding opportunities for African economies to leverage China’s demand base for sustained growth.
