In a major policy shift set to reshape Africa-China trade relations, the Chinese government has announced plans to grant Nigeria and 52 other African nations full duty-free access to its vast consumer market.

The new trade initiative, disclosed by President Xi Jinping in a letter to African foreign ministers, will extend zero-tariff treatment to 100 per cent of tariff lines for all African countries maintaining diplomatic ties with Beijing.

A report by Bloomberg on Thursday said the move builds on a previous policy that benefited only 33 least-developed African nations. It is part of China’s broader strategy to deepen economic cooperation with the continent amid intensifying trade tensions with the United States.

The results are already being felt as Chinese exports to Africa surged 12.4 per cent in the first five months of the year, reaching a record 963bn yuan ($134bn), according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

If implemented, the zero-tariff regime will allow virtually all Nigerian goods, from agricultural produce and manufactured items to solid minerals, to enter the Chinese market without the burden of import duties, a significant advantage in a global trade landscape where access to large markets is increasingly competitive

In the first quarter of 2025, Nigerians imported goods worth N4.66tn from China, consolidating its position as the highest trading partner on the import side.

The announcement comes at a critical time, as over 30 African countries, including Nigeria, face the risk of being excluded from the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, a preferential trade agreement that once allowed eligible nations to export goods to the US duty-free.

For Nigeria, the proposed duty-free access could significantly boost non-oil exports, especially in sectors like agriculture, textiles, solid minerals, and manufactured goods, areas where the country has long sought to diversify.

China and the US have also been wrangling over tariffs, with Trump intent on narrowing his nation’s trade deficit. Officials from the world’s two biggest economies agreed to a new framework to defuse tensions at a meeting in London earlier this week.

The deepening rivalry between Washington and Beijing has seen both powers engage in tit-for-tat tariff increases, with China now looking to Africa as a buffer against the economic fallout of the ongoing trade war.(PUNCH)