China has announced that it will waive tariffs on 98% of taxable imports from nine African countries starting 1 December 2022.
The nine African countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea‑Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Similar measures were introduced on 1 September 2022 for three other African countries, Djibouti, Togo and Rwanda.
The policy will apply to 8,786 items, including agricultural products such as cocoa powder, nuts and olive oil, and various products and chemicals. The tariff policy will gradually expand to benefit all least developed countries with diplomatic ties with the country.
Chinese agricultural imports from Africa are significant and growing, and the country has become the continent’s second-largest export market after the US.
China imported a record US$5 billion of agricultural products last year from Africa, following a brisk annual growth rate of about 11% over the past five years.
Read also; China’s Inflation Falls to 1.6% in November 2022.
