China announced its decision to do away with tariffs for all African countries from Friday, except for Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan.
China had previously implemented a duty-free policy for 33 least-developed African countries as of December 2024. The policy will now cover 53 nations, and will be in effect until 30 April 2028.
Beijing prides itself in being the first major economy to offer unilateral zero-tariff treatment to Africa.
According to Lauren Johnston, a senior research fellow at the AustChina Institute, “China is positioning itself as the trade liberaliser and Africa-friendly economic partner, in contrast to Donald Trump and the US.”
The United States had earlier hit many African nations with tariffs upto 30%, before most of them got struck down by the Supreme Court to 10%.
African exports mainly include minerals and raw materials, such as crude oil and metallic ores. The main African players in the trade with China are Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa.
However, analysts point out a significant trade imbalance between China and the African countries, dismissing the belief that tarrifs were the main obstacle for exporters. Chinese exports to Africa are currently far greater than African exports to China, with Africa’s trade deficit with the country rising by 65% to around $102 biillion.
Jervin Naidoo, a political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa, commented, “Many African economies still face structural constraints, such as limited industrial capacity, weak logistics, and a reliance on raw commodity exports, which tariff reductions alone cannot address.”
While Director of the East Asian Institute in Singapore Alfred Schipke agreed that the short-term economic impact would likely be modest, he remained hopeful, “Over the long term, however, the potential could be more meaningful, especially if African countries are able to expand production, diversify exports, and move up the value chain.”
Experts consider the exclusion of Eswatini from the policy as a political move with limited economic impact.
The southern African nation is among the 12 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a self-governed island wanting to distance its identity from China amid hopes of “reunification” from Beijing.
Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist with the Australian National University’s Taiwan Centre, examined the decision and concluded that China is “weaponising its ties with African countries, and showing how relations with China comes up with strings attached.”
However, Amit Jain, a Singapore-based expert in China-Africa relations, believes that the snub “may even help Eswatini win even more economic concessions from Taiwan”.
