Namibia is among 53 African countries set to benefit from China’s expanded zero-tariff policy, following an announcement made during Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s regular press conference on 11 June 2025.
China is expected to remove tariffs on imports from almost all African countries from 1 May 2026. The move expands an existing arrangement under which zero-tariff treatment currently applies to imports from 33 African countries. Beijing had previously indicated that the policy would be extended to cover all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.
The announcement followed the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Changsha, Hunan, where Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed that China would grant zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines to African countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Beijing.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the policy forms part of broader efforts to deepen trade and economic cooperation between China and African countries and to advance the implementation of partnership commitments agreed under the FOCAC framework. China also indicated that it would provide additional facilitation measures aimed at supporting exports from Africa’s least developed countries into the Chinese market.
President Xi said the measures were intended to support China and Africa in jointly advancing modernisation and strengthening what Beijing describes as an “all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era”.
Under the expanded framework, zero tariffs will apply to all African countries except Eswatini, which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to assert control over the island.
China remains Africa’s largest trading partner, and the expansion of tariff-free access is expected to support increased exports from African countries, although market access will continue to depend on compliance with Chinese import standards, rules of origin and supply capacity.
