China scraps tariffs for all but one African nation
cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/51421987
> China will scrap tariffs for all African countries – except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan.
>
> ...
>
> But analysts say that while China is seizing the chance to enhance its soft power, they point out that tariffs are rarely the main obstacle for exporters in Africa which has a huge trade deficit with China.
>
> ...
>
> "China is positioning itself as the trade liberaliser and Africa-friendly economic partner, in contrast to Donald Trump and the US," says Lauren Johnston, a senior research fellow at the AustChina Institute.
>
> ...
>
> Sino-African trade is marked by a growing imbalance in China's favour, which means Chinese exports to Africa far exceed African exports to China, and that difference is widening.
>
> **Last year, Africa's trade deficit with China rose by 65% to about $102bn.**
>
> Africa's exports to China are dominated by minerals and raw materials, such as crude oil and metallic ores.
>
> Currently, China's main trading partners in the region include Angola, driven primarily by oil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa.
>
> However, a consistent duty-free regime across such a heterogenous continent could result in uneven gains, Johnston notes.
>
> ...
>
> On its own, the zero-tariff policy does not address continent-wide needs for economic restructuring and infrastructure upgrading, adds Jervin Naidoo, a political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa.
>
> "Many African economies still face structural constraints, such as limited industrial capacity, weak logistics, and a reliance on raw commodity exports, which tariff reductions alone cannot address," he says.
>
> ...
>
> "The structural problem has not changed. Africa continues to export raw materials and import manufactured goods. That asymmetry drives persistent trade deficits, constrains domestic revenue mobilisation, and limits the jobs and tax base that governments need to fund public services," [according to Economist Ken Gichinga].
>
> "Zero tariffs on commodities that have already left our shores unprocessed do not solve that problem. They can entrench it. African governments must now ask the harder questions. How do we use improved market access as leverage for industrial policy?"
>
> ...
>
> **And what about Eswatini?**
>
> The analysts believe the exclusion of Eswatini is a political move.
>
> ...
>
> Last month, Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te had to cancel a trip to Eswatini after three other African countries – Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar – barred his aircraft from flying over their territories. Taiwan has accused them of doing so under "intense pressure" and economic coercion from China.
>
> By sidelining Eswatini, China is "weaponising its ties with African countries, and showing how relations with China comes up with strings attached", Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist with the Australian National University's Taiwan Centre.
>
> "China wants to show the world how it treats its friends, versus Taiwan's friends," he says.
>
> [Web Archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20260502054621/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2v509217o)
> China will scrap tariffs for all African countries – except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan.
>
> ...
>
> But analysts say that while China is seizing the chance to enhance its soft power, they point out that tariffs are rarely the main obstacle for exporters in Africa which has a huge trade deficit with China.
>
> ...
>
> "China is positioning itself as the trade liberaliser and Africa-friendly economic partner, in contrast to Donald Trump and the US," says Lauren Johnston, a senior research fellow at the AustChina Institute.
>
> ...
>
> Sino-African trade is marked by a growing imbalance in China's favour, which means Chinese exports to Africa far exceed African exports to China, and that difference is widening.
>
> **Last year, Africa's trade deficit with China rose by 65% to about $102bn.**
>
> Africa's exports to China are dominated by minerals and raw materials, such as crude oil and metallic ores.
>
> Currently, China's main trading partners in the region include Angola, driven primarily by oil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa.
>
> However, a consistent duty-free regime across such a heterogenous continent could result in uneven gains, Johnston notes.
>
> ...
>
> On its own, the zero-tariff policy does not address continent-wide needs for economic restructuring and infrastructure upgrading, adds Jervin Naidoo, a political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa.
>
> "Many African economies still face structural constraints, such as limited industrial capacity, weak logistics, and a reliance on raw commodity exports, which tariff reductions alone cannot address," he says.
>
> ...
>
> "The structural problem has not changed. Africa continues to export raw materials and import manufactured goods. That asymmetry drives persistent trade deficits, constrains domestic revenue mobilisation, and limits the jobs and tax base that governments need to fund public services," [according to Economist Ken Gichinga].
>
> "Zero tariffs on commodities that have already left our shores unprocessed do not solve that problem. They can entrench it. African governments must now ask the harder questions. How do we use improved market access as leverage for industrial policy?"
>
> ...
>
> **And what about Eswatini?**
>
> The analysts believe the exclusion of Eswatini is a political move.
>
> ...
>
> Last month, Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te had to cancel a trip to Eswatini after three other African countries – Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar – barred his aircraft from flying over their territories. Taiwan has accused them of doing so under "intense pressure" and economic coercion from China.
>
> By sidelining Eswatini, China is "weaponising its ties with African countries, and showing how relations with China comes up with strings attached", Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist with the Australian National University's Taiwan Centre.
>
> "China wants to show the world how it treats its friends, versus Taiwan's friends," he says.
>
> [Web Archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20260502054621/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2v509217o)