The Annual Retreat of the Group of African Ambassadors in China (GAAC), held in Beijing from 23 to 24 April 2026 on leveraging China’s 100% tariff-free offer to African countries, concluded on a strong and forward-looking note. GAAC Member States and participants underscored the importance of coordinated African approaches, supported by harmonised continental strategies and policies, as a foundation for deeper integration. They reaffirmed their collective commitment to take ownership of advancing sustainable development across the continent through strengthened trade, industrialisation, and infrastructure partnerships with China. Championed by H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, and organised by the AU Permanent Mission to China under the leadership of H.E. Ambassador Dr. Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, the Retreat emphasised the need to foster win-win partnerships with China that go beyond market access and prioritise value addition, standardisation, and the development of competitive intra-African production systems capable of serving both regional and global markets.
At the Retreat, organised ahead of China’s 100% Tariff-free Offer for African countries, effective from 1 May 2026, the Ambassadors noted that for Africa to benefit meaningfully, it must move from fragmented national responses to a coordinated continental strategy, anchored in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). They emphasised the need to shift from raw-material dependence to value-added regional production, supported by industrial zones, logistics, and energy, and to go beyond tariff access to full trade enablement, addressing standards, certification, traceability, logistics, and finance. They agreed that the zero-tariff offer is a major strategic opportunity, fully aligned with FOCAC and Agenda 2063, and must therefore be treated as an industrial policy lever, not a trade concession, in order to accelerate value addition, strengthen regional value chains, and enhance Africa’s productive capacities and readiness.
They also noted that market access alone is insufficient. The tariff-free offer will only deliver results if accompanied by flanking measures, notably in transport and logistics, trade finance, standards, and quality infrastructure. The retreat further noted that compliance determines market access, and hence meeting Chinese market standards is non-negotiable. Training and capacity building for exporters is essential for compliance and for enhancing Africa’s competitiveness. Strong institutions, efficient trade corridors, and industrial readiness are needed to translate policy commitments into the actual movement of value-added goods.
The Retreat underscored the central role of AU institutions, including AUDA-NEPAD, the AU Commission, the AU Office in China, and the AfCFTA Secretariat, in coordinating implementation and delivery at continental scale. Financing, particularly for SMEs, was emphasised, with a call for reform of the African financial architecture to improve domestic resource mobilisation for productive sectors. It was noted that access to affordable trade and production finance is essential for SMEs to meet demand, manage inventory, and comply with export requirements.
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The Retreat also noted that the partnership with Chinese institutions must be practical and coordinated, with clear information on support instruments, green channels, rules of origin, training, and financing, and with China engaging Africa as a single market. They also noted that trade promotion platforms are vital, especially at major expos (CIIE, China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, Intra-African Trade Fair), and that consideration should be given to an Africa-dedicated trade fair around the launch of the offer. Moreover, Africa needs to segment and cluster exports to China, rather than exporting as individual countries.
In their closing remarks, H.E. Dr. Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, Permanent Representative of the African Union to China; H.E. Mr. Martin Mpana, Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon to China and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in China; and H.E. Mrs Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), thanked AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and President Xi Jinping for promoting the strategic Africa-China partnership. They called for coordinated African approaches and reiterated their commitment to advancing Africa’s trade and industrialisation. In their words, the real test is not whether China has opened its market, but whether Africa will respond with the strategic clarity, institutional coordination, and economic ambition required to convert access into industrial transformation. As past experiences, including on AGOA and the economic partnership agreements (EPAs), have clearly demonstrated, preferences alone do not industrialise economies. Without investment in quality infrastructure, productive capacity, logistics, and skills, tariff-free access risks reinforcing existing trade patterns rather than transforming them.
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Africa must therefore act collectively and strategically to operationalise AfCFTA-aligned trade and industrial readiness programmes at national, regional, and continental levels; mobilise financing for industrial upgrading, SMEs development, and value chains, including feasibility studies and project preparation; strengthen quality infrastructure and compliance systems to meet Chinese market requirements; engage China as a partner in industrialisation, not only in trade, by leveraging existing investments; and, most importantly, foster the implementation of continental trade and industrialisation programmes and commitments.
