China will remove import duties from 98% of products imported from 16 low-income countries from the beginning of September, according to the Ministry of Finance. They include African countries like Togo, Mozambique, Chad, and Rwanda, as well as several Pacific Island states, and Asian developing economies like Cambodia and Bangladesh. (SOHU – in Chinese)

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. Friday’s call comes amid warming ties between the two countries with two-way trade up 31% this year and new deals aimed at boosting agricultural trade. The Xinhua read-out of the call was also packed with multiple references to how both countries are geopolitically aligned and support each other’s “core interests.”(XINHUA)