By Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI (Reuters) -China will negotiate and sign a new economic pact with Africa that will get rid of all tariffs on the 53 African states it has diplomatic ties with, it said, a move that could benefit middle-income nations.
The Asian economic giant offers duty- and quota-free market access to least developed countries (LDCs), including many in Africa, but the new initiative will level the playing field by also offering middle-income countries similar market access.
“China is ready to… welcome quality products from Africa to the Chinese market”, China’s foreign ministry said after a meeting of senior Chinese officials with African foreign ministers in Changsha to review implementation of commitments made during a summit in Beijing last September.
In recognition of the significant disadvantages that businesses from LDCs like Tanzania or Mali could face from their more developed counterparts like South Africa once the market is fully opened, China pledged additional measures to support LDCs, including training and marketing promotion.
Beijing’s move could help relatively advanced countries, with significant manufacturing bases for value added products, to take advantage of the vast Chinese market, analysts said.
“It enables middle-income countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco… to be able to now enter the Chinese market duty-free,” said Hannah Ryder, founder of Development Reimagined, an Africa-focused consultancy.
Trade between China and Africa has been growing in recent years, but it has been heavily skewed in favour of China, which had a surplus of $62 billion last year.
“Unless we have an equivalent increase of African exports to China, then trade deficits will continue to increase,” Ryder said, adding that the initiative announced by Beijing could help to balance trade.
During last year’s summit in Beijing, China pledged 360 billion yuan ($50 billion) to African economies over three years in credit lines and investments, marking its return to big-ticket funding deals for the continent after a pandemic-related hiatus.
($1 = 7.1747 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Toby Chopra)
