(Yicai) June 13 -- China will expand the preferential policy offering tariff-free treatment to 53 African countries to further strengthen the economic cooperation between China and Africa.

"China is ready to, through negotiating and signing the agreement of China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development, expand the zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China, or all African countries except Eswatini, to welcome quality products from Africa to the Chinese market," according to the China-Africa Changsha Declaration on Upholding Solidarity and Cooperation of the Global South released on June 11.

The 20 new additions include Africa's four largest economies -- Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.

Relations between China and Africa have been elevated to a new historical high, as the latest preferential policy reflects China's attitude of giving equal treatment to all African countries and actively helping them achieve development, Zhu Ming, director of the regional cooperation office at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told Yicai.

In the complex international trade environment, African countries' exports to the United States and the European Union are under pressure, so they are very eager to diversify their exports and boost their share of the Chinese market, Zhu added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on Sept. 5 that China will offer zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all of Africa’s 33 least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China.

China's imports from Africa's 33 least developed countries soared 15 percent to USD21.4 billion in the four months ended March 31 since the 100 percent zero-tariff policy took effect on Dec. 1 compared with the same period a year earlier, Shen Xiang, director of the Department of Western Asian and African Affairs at Ministry of Commerce, said at a press conference in May.

Under the framework of 'South-South' cooperation, China began to provide zero-tariff treatment to some goods from Africa's least developed countries in 2005. This policy has been continuously expanded and upgraded since then, boosting trade between China and Africa.

China's foreign trade with Africa rose 6.1 percent to CNY2.1 trillion (USD292.8 billion) last year from the year before, with the Asian country remaining Africa's largest trading partner for the 16th consecutive year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. The figure climbed 12 percent to CNY963.2 billion (USD134.3 billion) in the first five months of this year from a year earlier.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione