China announces duty free imports from almost whole of African Continent
China has announced to implement zero duty imports from almost whole of the African Continent starting May 01, 2026
Beijing: China has announced to implement zero duty imports from almost whole of the African Continent starting May 01, 2026.
Earlier China provided zero-tariff or near-zero-tariff access mainly to African least developed countries (LDCs), covering 33 or so nations with 97–100% of tariff lines eliminated in phases, including full coverage for LDCs expanded around 2024–2025.
As per the latest announcement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping two days ago on February 14, 2026, the zero tariff has been extended to all 54 countries of the African Continent except Eswatini.
Why Eswatini is Excluded?
Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, has been excluded because its diplomatic relations with Taiwan instead of mainland China.
The announcement was made in a message to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia from February 12 to 16, 2026.
The decision to extend zero- duty imports from the whole of African Continent is seen as strengthening China-Africa economic ties, potentially boosting African exports in sectors like agriculture, crude oil, rare earth and raw minerals and manufactured goods.
The announcement comes weeks after the United States moved to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides selective duty-free access for eligible sub-Saharan African countries but remains subject to periodic renewal and compliance conditions.
China-Africa Trade Ties
Trade between China and Africa has grown steadily, but structural imbalances persist. As per the data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade of $222.05 billion between January and August 2025, up 15.4% year-on-year.
Chinese exports to Africa jumped 24.7% to $140.79 billion, while imports from Africa rose 2.3% to $81.25 billion.
Africa’s trade deficit with China widened to $59.55 billion in the first eight months of 2025, nearly matching the full-year 2024 deficit of $61.93 billion.
In 2023, mineral resources made up roughly 40% of China’s imports from African LDCs, followed by non-edible raw materials and semi-processed goods, as per The Nation.
On the export side, China ships products such as machinery, electronics and renewable energy equipment.
Chinese Imports from Africa
Beijing maintains that eliminating tariffs will support export growth from Africa and help narrow the imbalance. Economists estimate that China will forgo roughly $1.4 billion in tariff revenue annually under the expanded scheme, according to Africa Sustainability Matters.
The latest announcement is set to boost the trade between China and Africa, and also give Beijing political leverage on global front amid Donald Trump's tariff war.
This also comes at the background of Trump forcing countries to buy oil from the United States and pushing Venezuela crude after the controversial kidnapping of the country's President Nicolás Maduro.
China has already upped crude oil imports from Nigeria, Kango and Angola - the largest crude oil exporter to China in addition to buying oil from Russia. Cobalt, copper and rare earth minerals exports from Africa to China are also set to go up after May 01, 2026 as China has set its eyes on cheap uranium imports from Namibia, copper from Zambia, lithium from Zimbabwe, coffee, sea-foods and tea from Kenya and other African countries.
Simultaneously, China is also providing the African countries technical and infrastructural supports to local oil and mineral industries for upgradation.
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