By Victoria Wilson

 Photo: Andrew Thomas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

China is Africa’s largest trading partner. The two sides exchanged $348 billion in goods in 2025. African exports to China grew 14.5 percent in the first four months of 2026. Since 1 May, every African country with diplomatic ties to Beijing ships its goods to a market of 1.4 billion consumers with zero tariffs at the gate.

Africa’s trade deficit with China stood at $36.8 billion for the first four months of 2026 — up 48 percent year-on-year. The continent primarily exports raw materials; copper, cobalt, cocoa, oil, coffee, bauxite. China primarily exports manufactured goods in return; machinery, electronics, solar panels and vehicles. African governments across the continent have made the same demand in response, process more before it ships.

THE SCALE OF THE RELATIONSHIP

Twenty-five years ago, China-Africa annual trade was measured in single-digit billions. In 2025, it was $348 billion. Chinese exports to Africa were $225 billion, up 25.8 percent. African exports to China reached $123 billion, up 5.4 percent.

In the first quarter of 2026, total China-Africa trade reached $92.3 billion, up 27.1 percent year-on-year.

Since 2019, Chinese state lenders have extended no new financing for coal, oil, or gas projects in Africa. Investment from China has moved toward solar and wind energy, digital infrastructure, and agriculture.

WHAT 1 MAY 2026 OPENED

 Photo: EnzoRivos / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

On 1 May 2026, China formally extended zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries, thus, every country with diplomatic ties to Beijing. The policy had been building since FOCAC 2024.  It first took effect for 33 least developed African countries in December 2024, and expanded to the remaining 20 on 1 May.

The only country excluded is Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic ties with Taipei rather than Beijing.

Products that previously faced tariffs between 8 and 30 percent now enter China duty-free. Ghanaian and Ivorian cocoa. Kenyan coffee and avocados, which had faced a 7 percent tariff. South African citrus, wine, and apples, which carried a 10 percent duty.

The Brookings Institution notes that 94.5 percent of African exports were already duty-free before the expansion. The 1 May policy covers the remaining 5.5 percent.

Yun Sun, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, called Africa’s position in the current environment “gold.” As trade walls rise between the United States, Europe, and China, Africa holds tariff-free entry into the Chinese market that most other exporters do not. Sun noted the position could attract foreign direct investment from companies seeking Chinese market access while avoiding tariffs imposed on other countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi launched the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa in January, with culture, education, youth exchanges, and tourism as the stated focus areas for the year.

WHAT AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS ARE ASKING FOR

Between 87 and 91 percent of what Africa sends to China is raw materials. Copper leaves before it becomes wire. Cocoa leaves before it becomes chocolate. Cobalt leaves before it goes into a battery.

Kenya is seeking to expand processed tea and higher-grade coffee exports alongside raw commodities. Ghana has been pushing for processed chocolate and cocoa derivatives, not just the raw bean. South Africa is seeking to ship value-added minerals rather than raw ore.

David Luke of the London School of Economics, in analysis cited by ISS Africa, said non-reciprocal zero-tariff access makes sense given the economic difference between China and African countries. He said the next step is investment in productive capacity, manufacturing plants, processing facilities, agricultural value chains.

The Brookings Institution’s Foresight Africa 2026 report identified AfCFTA integration as a mechanism for strengthening Africa’s position, a more integrated African market, with common standards and logistics, would make the continent a more attractive destination for manufacturing investment.

The first shipments of Kenyan avocados and Ghanaian cocoa under zero-tariff conditions entered China in May 2026.