The New Era of Duty Free China-Africa is Set to Begin

A container ship berths at the port in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province on April 28, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)

Starting on Friday, 20 more African countries will be able to export their products to China tariff-free. The specific list of countries and products that qualify for this benefit was unveiled by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council in Beijing.

There’s been some confusion about why the State Council announced only 20 countries would be included in the latest tariff elimination.

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