China to scrap tariffs for most of Africa from 1 May, says Xi Jinping

It's another hurdle lowered for more Chinese-African trade: Beijing announced on Saturday that it would scrap tariffs for imports from 53 African countries. Eswatini is the only one not on the list as it maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, whose sovereignty China challenges.

From 1 May onwards, China will impose no tariffs on imports from 53 African countries.

This was announced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday, according to reports from Chinese state media.

It's an important step to further increase trade between Beijing and the continent.

China-Africa trade reached $222 billion in early 2025 and could increase once the tariffs are scrapped. Beijing in fact already had a zero-tariff policy for 33 African countries, but now expands this previous policy to the entire continent with the exception of Eswatini. This is because Eswatini maintains diplomatic relations with the island Taiwan, whose sovereignty China challenges and which it has threatened with the use of force.

The new trade policy also comes at a time when African countries are increasingly steering away from the US, which imposed steep tariffs on many of them.