China to impose zero tariffs on all items from 53 African countries: spokesman

The announcement came at the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Changsha of central China's Hunan Province.

"Today, the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Changsha of Hunan. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the meeting, announcing that China will grant zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines to all least developed countries (LDCs) with which it has diplomatic relations, and will provide greater convenience for the export of the LDCs in Africa to China. China is willing to make further efforts in implementing the '10 partnership actions' with African partners, which provides important guidance for China and Africa to jointly promote modernization and build a new era all-weather China-African community with a shared future," Lin said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the meeting's opening ceremony, and proposed five initiatives on promoting high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation, including upholding solidarity among Global South nations, advocating free trade, and promoting cultural exchanges, the spokesman added.

"The two sides announced the China-Africa Changsha Declaration On Upholding Solidarity and Cooperation of the Global South, issued the List of the Outcomes of the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, published the Concept Paper of 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. The meeting showcases the implementation of the cooperation achievements of the Beijing Summit by China and Africa, and also injects new impetus into deepening political mutual trust, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation and enhancing people-to-people connectivity. The 4th China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will also be held in Changsha starting from tomorrow," Lin said.

"In recent years, under the guidance of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, the China-Africa relationship has achieved leapfrog development. China has established strategic partnership with all African countries having diplomatic ties with it. China remains Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Since the Beijing Summit last year, China's new investment in Africa has exceeded 13.3 billion yuan (1.85 billion U.S. dollars), and the total amount of financial support to Africa has exceeded 150 billion yuan. In the first five months of this year, China's imports and exports with Africa reached 963 billion yuan, increasing by 12.4 percent year-on-year and setting a new record for the same period in history," he said.

Lin stressed China's commitment to Africa as a "cornerstone" of its foreign policy, pledging to use its modernization drive to support African development and bolster Global South unity.

"China has always been taking solidarity and cooperation with African countries as an important cornerstone of China's foreign policies. We are willing to work with African countries to solidly promote the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit, carefully plan the future development of the Forum, use the 'golden key' of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation to open the 'door to the future' of common development, use Chinese-style modernization to help Africa's development and revitalization, and contribute China-Africa strength to achieving unity and self-reliance in the Global South and building a community with a shared future for mankind," Lin concluded