China announced that it would implement a zero-tariff policy on all tariff lines for products from 53 African countries with diplomatic ties with China from May 1, 2026.
China has removed import tariffs on all products from the 53 African countries it has diplomatic ties with, starting May 1, 20261.
The measure adds 20 African countries that did not have this benefit before, including Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa1. China’s Ministry of Commerce explained the details in a question-and-answer statement on April 29, 2026.
In short, goods from any of these 53 countries can now enter China without paying import tax. A shipment still has to meet China’s origin rules and its health and plant-health inspection rules to get the benefit.
What did China announce for African goods?
President Xi Jinping announced the measure on Feb. 14, 2026, in a message to the African Union summit1. He said China would apply zero tariffs to every tariff line, meaning every product category in the customs list. The policy took effect on May 1, 20262.
A tariff is a tax that the importing country charges on goods at the border. A zero tariff means the Chinese buyer pays no such tax on the goods. The Ministry of Commerce said China is now the first major economy to give one-sided, full zero tariffs to all African partner countries1.
China does not ask the African countries to cut their own tariffs in return. The Chinese Consul General in Lagos, Yan Yuqing, said in an Aug. 20 speech that China attaches no political conditions to the offer2. She called it a key step under the China-Africa cooperation plan for 2025 to 2027.
Which African countries gain from May 1?
Before May 1, 33 of the 53 countries already paid no tariffs in China1. These are least developed countries, a United Nations group of the poorest economies. They have had zero tariffs on 100% of product lines since Dec. 1, 20243.
Two groups of African countries
| Question | 33 least developed countries | 20 other countries |
|---|---|---|
| Zero tariffs since | Dec. 1, 2024 | May 1, 2026 |
| Share of product lines | 100% | All tariff lines |
| How long | No end date stated | 2 years |
The new step covers the other 20 countries, which are not in that group1. They are:
- Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cameroon and Republic of the Congo
- Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Ghana
- Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco and Namibia
- Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe
For these 20 countries, China applies the zero rate as a "preferential rate", a special lower rate for chosen partners1. This rate runs for a period of 2 years1. The ministry said the full details were published on the website of China’s Ministry of Finance.
How much tax do exporters save?
The ministry gave examples of the tariffs that have now gone1. Cocoa from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana used to pay 8% to 22%. Kenyan coffee paid 8% to 30%, and Kenyan avocados paid 20%. South African citrus fruit paid 12%, and South African wine paid 14% to 20%.
Highest tariff removed, by product, %
From May 1, all these goods pay 0% import tariff if they meet the conditions1. For a Chinese buyer, this lowers the delivered cost of each shipment. African sellers can then offer lower prices or keep a bigger margin.
The consul general gave figures for Nigeria2. She said the removed tariffs ranged from 3% to 10% on its main exports. Every 100 tons of sesame exported saves $11,000, she said. Nigeria’s yearly export of 7,000 tons of cattle bone granules saves nearly $450,000.
On the first day of the policy, one shipment of 23,000 tons of Nigerian liquefied propane saved $300,000 in tax2. Propane is a gas used for cooking and heating.
What must a shipment prove at China’s border?
The zero rate is not automatic for every box that arrives from Africa. The Ministry of Commerce said goods must meet China’s rules of origin1. These rules decide which country a product truly comes from. Goods only passing through an African port would not qualify on that basis alone.
What a shipment needs for the zero rate
Goods must also pass China’s inspection and quarantine checks1. These cover food safety, animal health and plant health. A fruit or seafood shipment that fails these checks will not enter China, whatever the tariff.
This matters most for farm and food goods. The consul general said Nigerian wild aquatic products, such as wild-caught fish, only recently gained an agreed export protocol2. A protocol is a deal that sets the health rules for one product. She also backed a call by Nigeria’s power minister to help businesses meet China’s inspection and certification standards.
Why does China call the measure temporary?
For the 20 newer countries, the ministry called the zero tariffs a "phased, pilot arrangement"1. China is negotiating economic partnership agreements with these countries. The zero tariffs answer the problem that some countries cannot finish these talks quickly.
From announcement to partnership talks
The ministry said the African countries must keep negotiating with China1. Only a signed agreement will give them zero tariffs on a long-term, stable basis. It said such agreements follow World Trade Organization rules and also cover other trade barriers and investment.
Nigeria has already started this path. China and Nigeria signed a framework agreement on economic partnership on March 26, 20262. The two sides will negotiate on trade in goods and services, investment, green development and digital trade.
For goods from the 20 countries, this means the 2-year zero rate has a limit. A buyer planning long contracts will depend on whether each country signs a full agreement before the period ends.
How has trade with Africa changed since May?
The consul general gave early trade figures in her speech2. In May and June, China imported $28.5 billion of goods from Africa. That was 23.5% more than a year earlier.
She said total China-Africa trade reached more than $207 billion in the first half of 2026, a record for that period2. Estimates show the zero-tariff policy raised overall African exports to China by about 6%, she added.
Nigeria grew fastest in her figures. Chinese imports from Nigeria rose 80% to more than $2 billion in the first half of the year2. Monthly growth was over 40% in both May and June.
China also plans "green channels", or faster lanes, for African exports2. It will open trade fairs and sales platforms and support online cross-border sales. For the 20 newer countries, the zero rate that began on May 1, 2026, runs for 2 years, which points to an end in 2028 unless a partnership agreement replaces it.
Sources
- ↩ 商务部世贸司负责人就对53个非洲建交国全面实施零关税举措生效答 … https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfb/sjfzrfb/art/2026/art_eb89a23715fa49cf87c245c1d0710842.html
- ↩ Keynote Speech by Chinese Consul General in Lagos Mrs. Yan Yuqing at the Seminar on China’s Zero-Tariff Measures and Africa’s Economic Structural Transformation https://lagos.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zlgxw/202608/t20260820_12007025.htm
- ↩ The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has issued a statement on granting zero tariff to 100% of the taxable products of the least developed countries…. https://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=100561