国产人人色I色婷婷综合久久中文字幕雪峰I奇米色777欧美一区二区I久热久热aV爽青青在线I国产av喷水I国产伦精品一区二区三区免.费I高潮av在线Iww欧美一级I91天天看I黄a在线91I九一无码中文字幕久久无码色…I丰满国产精品视频二区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / China-Africa

Sino-African ties to open new chapter

Zero tariffs will offer fresh opportunities, unlocking unprecedented market access

By XU WEI, MO JINGXI and HE CHUN in Changsha | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2026-03-26 06:58
Share
Share - WeChat
Participants at the China-Kenya Business Forum learn about Kenyan coffee on Monday. The forum was held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. More than 350 guests from both countries attended the event, which focused on China's decision to grant zero-tariff access from May 1 to African exports. XIE JIANFEI/XINHUA

In his early 20s, Stephen Simon Koberou drove trains across the vast savannas of East Africa, guiding Chinese-built locomotives along the TAZARA Railway — a steel corridor that once symbolized solidarity between a newly independent Africa and a rising China.

The railway linking Tanzania and Zambia carried copper and agricultural goods to the coast and helped define relations between Beijing and the continent in the 1970s. For young railway workers like Koberou, China was a daily presence.

"All the terminologies were Chinese, the locomotives were from China, the wagons from China," Koberou recalled. "I started feeling like a Chinese from the early stages of my employment."

Half a century later, the relationship he once experienced firsthand is being reshaped in markets and trade flows, extending its benefits to people across the continent. Koberou now serves as chief representative of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in China, promoting Tanzanian exports and searching for buyers in China's vast consumer economy.

The railway on which he once worked is being revitalized under a trilateral agreement among China, Tanzania and Zambia to build what officials call a prosperity belt. Increasingly, however, policymakers and businesses view market access — not infrastructure alone — as the defining feature of the next phase of China-Africa relations.

Starting in May, China will eliminate tariffs on all tariff lines for 53 African countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing — a move that opens China's domestic market to African goods on an unprecedented scale and signals a deeper transformation in China-Africa economic ties.

The move was announced on Feb 14 in a congratulatory message from President Xi Jinping to the African Union summit.

Xi pledged that China will step up the negotiation and signing of economic partnership agreements for shared development, and further expand access for African exports by upgrading the "green channel" and related facilitation measures.

African officials say the implications of the zero-tariff policy are structural, with smaller businesses and farmers expected to benefit most.

Ethiopian Ambassador to China Tefera Derbew Yimam said the measure carries "transformative significance", sharply lowering trade barriers and improving African commodities' competitiveness in China's vast market.

"We really appreciate China's effort to play a leading role in promoting multilateralism and open trade," he said, noting that the policy reflects Beijing's unwavering commitments made under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation framework.

Harris Potani, Malawi's first consul general in Changsha, Hunan province, said greater access to the Chinese market can translate into better and more stable incomes for farmers, new jobs in processing and logistics, and stronger rural economies.

"For small businesses, it can encourage investment in quality improvement, certification and value addition," he said.

"It creates new opportunities for Malawian producers and exporters, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to diversify markets and increase trade volumes," Potani added. "It also reflects China's commitment to strengthening economic cooperation, inclusive development and genuine partnership with African countries."

Nowhere are the effects more visible than in coffee — one of Africa's most globally recognized exports.

Adugna Debela Bote, director-general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, said expanded access to China has already altered Ethiopia's export trajectory.

About 90 percent of Ethiopian coffee is produced by small-scale farmers, many of whom historically captured only a small share of global retail value. Official statistics show that about 15 million people in the East African country rely on coffee for their livelihood.

"China is working strongly with Africa," Bote said. "One of the commitments that the country showed is imposing zero tariffs on the products that are exported from Africa. This is a very good opportunity for us."

Ethiopia exported roughly 400 metric tons of coffee to China a decade ago, he said, adding that by 2025, shipments had surged to around 40,000 tons — exponential growth driven by rising Chinese consumption.

Officials and business leaders said tariff elimination could also help African economies move up global value chains by encouraging local processing, packaging and branding rather than raw commodity exports.

Yimam, the Ethiopian ambassador, said the zero-tariff policy will help develop the processing, packaging and branding capacity of African nations. "More income will go to the producers and those who participate along the value chain locally."

Chinese companies operating in Africa are also looking to upscale their industrial chains in Africa under the zero-tariff policy.

Zhu Chen, chairman of Mainland Group, said tariffs previously forced exporters of commodities such as rubber to suppress prices, limiting how much farmers could earn.

"With lower trade costs, exporters have more flexibility," Zhu said. "That allows better purchase prices for farmers upstream," he said.

He added that Chinese enterprises are currently building a complete supply chain system in Africa to supply China's massive consumer market, with greater focus on the value addition process.

Jing Jianhua, founder of coffee brand Coffee Z, said eliminating tariffs on green coffee beans changes sourcing decisions, enabling buyers to prioritize quality while maintaining fair compensation for growers.

His perspective was shaped during a visit to a Ugandan coffee farm in 2018, where he realized that many farmers lived without reliable electricity or running water.

"We want every link in the chain to earn a reasonable profit," he said. "Otherwise, the system cannot last."

As trade deepens, cooperation is also expanding in sectors that address Africa's structural constraints — especially energy. Across much of the continent, unreliable electricity remains one of the largest barriers to industrialization, and China, as the world's largest solar panel producer, is increasingly filling that gap.

Africa is emerging as the world's fastest-growing solar market, with China playing a critical role in the process. According to a review of Chinese export data by Ember, a British energy tracking group, in the 12 months to June 2025, solar panel exports from China to Africa rose 60 percent across the continent compared with the previous 12 months.

"In Mali, less than 35 percent of people have access to electricity. That is simply unacceptable," said Aboubacar Garba Konte, a Malian entrepreneur and scholar who is now working with Chinese partners to deploy small-scale solar-power systems.

"Solar energy is the future," he said. "In the near future, I hope to launch large projects that can help light up Africa together with China, especially in renewable energy. China has enormous production capacity in this field."

Konte said many Africans view China as a technological hub capable of supporting economic transformation across the continent.

"We see cooperation with China as an opportunity to change people's livelihoods," he said. "For Africa, this partnership represents one of the best chances for development."

Mirana Annicet Rasoanomenjanahary, a research fellow from Madagascar who is now conducting postdoctoral research at Hunan University, expressed similar expectations, saying that greater Chinese investment in solar energy would help address chronic power shortages affecting households and businesses in her home country.

"We sincerely welcome more Chinese companies to invest in solar energy in Madagascar," she said. "Reliable electricity is urgently needed by local communities. Access to clean and sustainable energy could help solve persistent power disruptions and support economic growth."

For Koberou, the former TAZARA train driver, the transformation underway reflects continuity rather than rupture — a relationship evolving from railways to trade networks, and from infrastructure construction to deeper economic integration.

"Life will definitely change because of zero tariffs," he said. "Revenue will increase, transportation will be enhanced, and people's lives will improve."

Online See more by scanning the code.
Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1994 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US