China is accelerating its efforts to negotiate long-term trade agreements across Africa, signing new framework and tariff agreements with Cabo Verde and Seychelles.

Last week, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced the details of an upgrade to its FTA with China. Some key additions are new market access commitments and references to social policy issues such as labor and the environment.

Earlier this month, trade officials of the United Kingdom and China met and made progress toward a potential bilateral trade agreement in services. While both sides are attempting to carve out distinct areas of mutual commercial benefit, particularly through the lens of services trade, they also confront deep-seated frictions

China and Nigeria signed a landmark framework agreement last week to deepen economic ties, marking a key step in Nigeria's partnering with China amid global trade shifts.

Taiwan's president said the new Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the United States will overhaul market access in both directions by cutting tariffs and tightening rules on non‑tariff measures, putting Taiwan on par with other major U.S. partners.

Last week, the U.S. and Taiwan published the details of a bilateral trade agreement they had completed, negotiated in the shadow of the "reciprocal" tariffs imposed on Taiwan and other countries by the Trump administration. The resulting agreement lowers these tariffs for Taiwanese imports to 15% from

South Africa became the latest African country to formalize a landmark Framework Agreement with China, securing zero-tariff treatment for all its exports as Beijing expands its trade network across the African continent.