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Updated · The Washington Post · May 29China Grants Zero Tariffs to 53 African Countries as U.S. Cedes Free-Trade Ground
5 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 29
- China has put a zero-tariff policy into effect for 53 African countries, widening duty-free access for African exports to the Chinese market.
- The move is framed as a trade expansion that delivers mutual economic benefits to Chinese and African businesses and consumers through lower barriers.
- Beijing’s tariff cut also sharpens a geopolitical contrast with the United States, which the report says is moving in the opposite direction on trade.
- That divergence lets China present itself in Africa as the champion of freer markets, extending its economic influence on the continent.
Will China's tariff cuts spark African industry or just deepen its dependency? Can America's new investment strategy compete with China's massive trade deal in Africa? As China builds African refineries, who will control the world’s critical mineral supply?