Heavy release! China grants zero tariff treatment to 100 per cent of products from least developed countries (list attached)

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2024-09-13 18:19

Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Granting Zero Tariff Treatment to 100 Percent of the Products of the Least Developed Countries

Tax Commission Announcement No. 9 of 2024

To expand unilateral openness to the least developed countries and achieve common development,Starting from December 1, 2024, a preferential tax rate of zero will be applied to 100 per cent of the tax items of products originating in the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. Among them, the tariff quota products will only reduce the tariff rate within the quota to zero, and the tariff rate outside the quota will remain unchanged.

Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council

11 September 2024

The Ministry of Commerce responded by granting zero tariff treatment to 100 per cent of the products of the least developed countries.

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was successfully held last week. The "China-Africa Joint Promotion of Modernization Ten Partnership Actions" announced by President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the summit aroused enthusiastic responses from African countries. Among them, the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China are given 100% Zero tariff treatment for tax items and the negotiation and signing of a framework agreement for joint development of economic partnership have received widespread attention.

At a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on September 12, spokesman he Yongqian said that the Ministry of Commerce will conscientiously implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping's important speech and work with relevant departments to implement the "ten major partnership actions." through mechanisms such as the Joint Economic and Trade Committee, we will closely communicate and cooperate with the African side, sort out and promote key cooperation issues, and strive to achieve early harvest, let the results of economic and trade cooperation benefit the enterprises and people of China and Africa more and earlier.

He Yongqian introduced that "granting zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of the tax items of the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China" is our implementation of the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, expanding independent opening up, and unilateral opening up to the least developed countries. Specific actions are also important measures to steadily expand market access. "China is the first developing country and the world's major economy to grant zero tariff treatment to 100 percent of the least developed countries' products under tax lines. This initiative will play a positive role in expanding exports to China and sharing the opportunities of China's large market for the least developed countries, and will also lead to solidarity and cooperation in the 'Global South' and promote inclusive economic globalization."

On the "negotiation and signing of the framework agreement on economic partnership for common development", he Yongqian said that he received a warm response from African partners during the summit. So far, China has reached agreement with 22 African countries and signed framework agreements. "China and Africa believe that the framework agreement is a groundbreaking cooperation initiative that will promote the establishment of more flexible and pragmatic trade and investment liberalization and facilitation arrangements between China and African countries, and provide long-term, stable and predictable systems for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. Guarantee, provide huge opportunities for African products to enter the Chinese market, strongly support African industrialization and agricultural modernization, and help African economies achieve sustainable development."

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on September 5, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation adopted the "Beijing Declaration on Building an All-weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in a New Era" and the "Forum on China-Africa Cooperation-Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027)."

Unilateral zero-tariff treatment for 43 countries

In the trade prosperity partnership action, China expressed its willingness to take the initiative to unilaterally expand market opening, and decided to grant zero-tariff treatment to 100 per cent of the products of the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries, so as to promote China's big market to become a big opportunity for Africa.

Africa is the continent with the largest concentration of least developed countries in the world. In order to enhance its export competitiveness and promote its economic growth, China began to implement tariff-free treatment for some goods exported to China from the least developed countries in Africa as early as 2005. Since then, this treatment has been expanding and evolving.

It is worth noting that the original text is "all the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries", so the total should be 43 countries.

Reminder: As of now, Swaziland is the only country in Africa that does not have diplomatic relations with China.

The criteria for the least developed countries are recognized by the United Nations and updated every year. As of December 2023, there are 45 least developed countries in the world. They are:

Africa (total 33 countries): Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central Africa, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Djibouti, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

Asia (total 8 countries): Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, East Timor, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Yemen.

Oceania (3 countries): Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

North America (of 1): Haiti.

Among them, Haiti and Tuvalu have not established diplomatic relations with China. Therefore, excluding these two countries, there are 43 countries.

China-Africa trade volume hits record high in previous July

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was established in 2000,At present, there are China, 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China and 55 members of the African Union Commission.

The theme of this summit is "jointly promoting modernization and building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future". After the opening ceremony, four high-level meetings will be held on the themes of governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, and high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road.

According to the "China-African Countries Jointly Building the" Belt and Road "Development Report" released in August, China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and the proportion of China-Africa trade in Africa's total foreign trade has steadily increased.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, from 2000 to 2023, the scale of China-Africa trade increased from less than 100 billion yuan to 1.98 trillion yuan, an average annual growth rate of 17.2 percent, which was 4.6 percentage points higher than the average annual growth rate of China's overall trade in goods during the same period.

In 2023, the "China-Africa Trade Index" broke through 1000 points for the first time, reaching 1010.83 (100 points in 2000), an increase of 20.28 points from 2022 (990.55), showing a good development trend.

Data show that China's mechanical and electrical products such as ships, automobiles, and wind turbines have become an important force driving the growth of exports to Africa.

In the first seven months of this year, China's imports and exports to Africa reached 1.19 trillion billion yuan, an increase of 5.5 percent,The scale is at a record high for the same period.The import of agricultural products has become a new bright spot in bilateral trade.

Kenya's avocado, Tanzania's sesame, Senegal's peanuts, South Africa's fresh pears have entered the Chinese market. In the first seven months, China imported 25.35 billion billion yuan of agricultural products from Africa, an increase of 7.2 percent, higher than the overall growth rate of China's agricultural imports.

Rare plunge in international shipping rates (especially on Asia-Europe shipping routes)

Super typhoon "Capricorn" hit, many ports in South China have been shut down, or triggered a chain reaction of pre-holiday delays