China Maintains Close Ties with African Countries
Beijing – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi affirmed that China intends to maintain close ties with African countries.
‘China–Africa relations this year will welcome a series of new developments. First, building a community with a shared future for China and Africa will advance with new steps, demonstrated by many visits by African leaders,’ Wang Yi said at a press conference on ‘China’s Diplomacy and Foreign Policy’ in Beijing on Sunday.
Second, Wang Yi said that from 1 May 2026, China will fully implement zero tariffs on 100% of Africa’s products.
‘With China's commitment to a high level of openness, we will use tariff reductions to drive "additions" in trade and realise "multiplication" of people's wellbeing, so that China's vast market offers greater opportunities for Africa,’ he said.
Third, 2026 would be the “China-Africa Cultural Exchange Year” and nearly 600 rich and lively exchange activities would be held throughout the year.
‘China is willing to work with our African brothers to deepen mutual learning among civilisations, enhance people-to-people relations, and pass on the China–Africa friendship from generation to generation,’ added Wang Yi.
Wang Yi noted that over 70 years, China–Africa friendship has withstood changes in the international landscape and shown strong vitality. The Chinese foreign minister said that Africa has always been the first stop of his overseas travels at the start of each year; this practice has continued for 36 years, consistently through wind and rain, and has become a kind of spirit and belief in China’s diplomacy.
‘Earlier this year when I visited Ethiopia, people remembered the touching scene when Premier Zhou Enlai visited Africa. When I arrived in Tanzania, the story of China’s development assistance for the Tanzania–Zambia Railway remains widely told; many young Chinese technicians sacrificed their lives for it and rest there,’ Wang Yi said.
Entering a new era, Wang Yi said, President Xi Jinping also attaches great importance to China–Africa relations, proposing a concept of sincerity, tangible results, friendship and real goodwill, and right views on justice and interests, and leading cooperation with Africa to a new level.
China and African countries are known to have the forum ‘Forum on China-Africa Cooperation’ (FOCAC) with 53 African nations (excluding Eswatini) and the African Union Commission, which was established in 2000 and holds summits at heads of state/government level every three years.
According to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce from December 2021 to July 2024, China’s imports from Africa reached US$305.9 billion. China has also been Africa’s main trading partner for 15 consecutive years.