China-Africa Relations

Earlier this month, China's customs agency announced that it started allowing seafood from the Union of Comoros (a small country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa). The move is unlikely to change the bilateral trade patterns in the short term, and may be more important as part of

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen's recent statements on China being a "barrier" to resolving the debt issues in Zambia provoked a harsh response from the Chinese government.

This week, China's new Foreign Minister Qin Gang is visiting Africa to "deepen the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and boost friendly cooperation between China and Africa."

In late December, the Zimbabwe government adopted measures to encourage Chinese lithium mining companies to do more processing in Zimbabwe, rather than simply export raw lithium for processing elsewhere.

As a follow-up to the bilateral meeting between China and Tanzania and agreements to "expand the trade volume", China's Customs agency released the regulatory requirements for wild aquatic products from Tanzania, potentially opening the Chinese market to more seafood from the nation.

China's Customs recently published the regulatory requirements for fresh avocado from Tanzania, a follow-up on a previous meeting between the leaders of the two countries when they vowed to increase trade. Tanzanian avocado will face strong competition from other existing suppliers that already dominate the world and Chinese markets.