African women sorting avocados at a market, highlighting increased trade between China and 53 African countries for economic development.
China has announced it will eliminate tariffs for 53 African nations starting May 1, expanding its existing zero-tariff policy that previously covered only 33 countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the sweeping trade offer as African leaders gathered in Addis Ababa for the African Union summit, declaring it would create “new opportunities for African development.” The timing is pointed: Beijing’s announcement arrives weeks after Washington extended its own AGOA preferential trade program, exposing an intensifying rivalry for influence over Africa’s vast critical mineral and metal resources. The sole exclusion is Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, economists caution that this expansion of tariff-free access could leave African economies dependent on commodities, exposing them to global price swings and limiting efforts to build domestic value-added industries.
Semafor