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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

As China develops a taste for African farm produce, why ‘green lanes’ still have a long way to go

  • China is importing an ever-increasing array of non-resource products from Africa as part of a trade rebalance aimed at cutting deficits
  • ‘Green lanes’ pledged by President Xi Jinping are showing results, but challenges like non-tariff barriers remain, study says

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China imports more farm produce from Africa, including avocados, cashews, sesame seeds and chilli peppers, as agriculture becomes the new focus of its engagement with the continent. Photo: EPA-EFE
Jevans Nyabiage
A variety of raisins from South Africa are now reaching Chinese consumers, as doors open wider to African food products under President Xi Jinping’s “green lanes” promise.

“High quality fruit from Africa is gaining more and more recognition in the Chinese market,” Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s African affairs department, tweeted recently.

This comes as China imports more farm produce from Africa, including avocados, cashews, sesame seeds and chilli peppers, as agriculture becomes the new focus of its engagement with the continent.

Observers link the increase to Xi’s 2021 pledge to open “green lanes” for African non-resource exports, including faster inspection and quarantine, and wider tariff waivers.

The strategy aims to grow African imports to US$300 billion by 2024, from US$105.9 billion in 2021, as part of efforts to narrow the trade deficit with China, the continent’s largest trading partner. China imported agricultural products worth US$5 billion from Africa in 2021.

Beijing has since implemented zero-tariff imports for 98 per cent of taxable items from more than a dozen least-developed countries (LDCs), most of them in Africa.

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Why is the Chinese government so concerned about food security?

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A new study by Development Reimagined, a Beijing-based international development consultancy, said the green lanes were having some impact – with many African agricultural products making their first appearance in Chinese markets since Xi’s address to the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation in November 2021.

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