Starting December 1, China will implement a zero-tariff policy for goods imported from countries classified as the world's least developed, a strategic move designed to reduce shipping costs from parts of Africa and Asia while enhancing China's influence in global trade as detailed in a report by the South China Morning Post.

This initiative is expected to create significant opportunities for both exporters in these developing countries and importers in China. Further, according to officials in China this is a first-of-its-kind move.

The new scheme will apply to all UN-recognised least-developed nations<o:p></o:p>

The new tariff scheme will apply to all UN-recognised least-developed nations that maintain diplomatic relations with China. Of the 43 nations that this scheme will benefit, 33 are located in Africa, while others include Yemen, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and East Timor.

By eliminating tariffs across all import categories, these countries can export crops, fruits, seafood, and commodities to China with reduced costs, thus expanding their access to this vast market. This move will further consolidate the dominance of the Chinese economy in emerging markets.

According to Analysts, this move poses minimal risk to China's manufacturing sector, which relies heavily on exports to more developed economies like the US and Europe. Instead, it positions China favourably in emerging markets as Western nations increasingly impose barriers to Chinese goods. Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, noted that the timing of China's tariff elimination is particularly relevant amid rising global protectionism.

Fostering such relationships can be beneficial for China<o:p></o:p>

President Xi Jinping, announced the zero-tariff scheme during a September 5 keynote at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation the SCMP report detailed further.

Liang Yan, an economics professor at Willamette University, pointed out that fostering trade relations with less developed nations could yield diplomatic benefits for China the South China Morning Post report detailed further.

Strengthening ties with these countries may facilitate Beijing's influence in international organisations, as it champions open trade policies over protectionist measures. "China aims for greater solidarity with the Global South, which reflects its broader goals of power projection," she explained.

In recent years, China has actively sought to solidify its trade relationships with developing nations. In 2022 alone, China eliminated tariffs on 98 per cent of taxable products from 16 least developed countries. This commitment is underlined by the fact that, according to the World Trade Organization, a quarter of merchandise exports from these countries went to China in 2021, making it their largest trading partner.

Last year, exports from the 43 UN-listed nations to China reached over $60 billion, highlighting the growing economic interdependence. This zero-tariff initiative, announced by President Xi Jinping during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, marks China, as the first major developing nation to adopt such a sweeping policy.

While there are tariff quotas in place, meaning only shipments within the quotas will be tariff-free, the overall elimination of tariffs is expected to significantly enhance trade volumes between China and these developing nations. By facilitating smoother trade flows, China not only benefits economically but also strategically reinforces its role as a leader in the Global South.

Therefore, China's zero-tariff policy for the least developed countries represents a significant step in reshaping global trade dynamics. It opens new avenues for economic collaboration, positions China as a pivotal player in the developing world, and counters rising protectionist sentiments in the West.

Starting December 1, China will implement a zero-tariff policy for goods imported from countries classified as the world's least developed, a strategic move designed to reduce shipping costs from parts of Africa and Asia while enhancing China's influence in global trade as detailed in a report by the South China Morning Post.

Starting December 1, China will implement a zero-tariff policy for goods imported from countries classified as the world's least developed, a strategic move designed to reduce shipping costs from parts of Africa and Asia while enhancing China's influence in global trade as detailed in a report by the South China Morning Post. This initiative is expected to create significant opportunities for both exporters in these developing countries and importers in China. Further, according to officials in China this is a first-of-its-kind move. The new scheme will apply to all UN-recognised least-developed nations The new tariff scheme will apply to all UN-recognised least-developed nations that maintain diplomatic relations with China. Of the 43 nations that this scheme will benefit, 33 are located in Africa, while others include Yemen, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and East Timor. By eliminating tariffs across all import categories, these countries can export crops, fruits, seafood, and commodities to China with reduced costs, thus expanding their access to this vast market. This move will further consolidate the dominance of the Chinese economy in emerging markets. According to Analysts, this move poses minimal risk to China's manufacturing sector, which relies heavily on exports to more developed economies like the US and Europe. Instead, it positions China favourably in emerging markets as Western nations increasingly impose barriers to Chinese goods. Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, noted that the timing of China's tariff elimination is particularly relevant amid rising global protectionism. Fostering such relationships can be beneficial for China President Xi Jinping, announced the zero-tariff scheme during a September 5 keynote at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation the SCMP report detailed further. Liang Yan, an economics professor at Willamette University, pointed out that fostering trade relations with less developed nations could yield diplomatic benefits for China the South China Morning Post report detailed further. Strengthening ties with these countries may facilitate Beijing's influence in international organisations, as it champions open trade policies over protectionist measures. "China aims for greater solidarity with the Global South, which reflects its broader goals of power projection," she explained. In recent years, China has actively sought to solidify its trade relationships with developing nations. In 2022 alone, China eliminated tariffs on 98 per cent of taxable products from 16 least developed countries. This commitment is underlined by the fact that, according to the World Trade Organization, a quarter of merchandise exports from these countries went to China in 2021, making it their largest trading partner. Last year, exports from the 43 UN-listed nations to China reached over $60 billion, highlighting the growing economic interdependence. This zero-tariff initiative, announced by President Xi Jinping during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, marks China, as the first major developing nation to adopt such a sweeping policy. While there are tariff quotas in place, meaning only shipments within the quotas will be tariff-free, the overall elimination of tariffs is expected to significantly enhance trade volumes between China and these developing nations. By facilitating smoother trade flows, China not only benefits economically but also strategically reinforces its role as a leader in the Global South. Therefore, China's zero-tariff policy for the least developed countries represents a significant step in reshaping global trade dynamics. It opens new avenues for economic collaboration, positions China as a pivotal player in the developing world, and counters rising protectionist sentiments in the West.

China bolsters global trade ties with zero-tariff initiative for developing nations

Major&nbsp;food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with&nbsp;China's&nbsp;scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the&nbsp;coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a&nbsp;trade&nbsp;restriction.

China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German pork and Brazilian beef but foreign officials say the lack of evidence produced by authorities means it is damaging&nbsp;trade&nbsp;and hurting the reputation of imported&nbsp;food&nbsp;without reason.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-citizen-journalist-who-uncovered-covid-19-truth-faces-possibility-of-jail-time-reports-343845" hreflang="en">Chinese citizen journalist who uncovered COVID-19 truth faces possibility of jail time: Reports</a>

Chinese health officials said Wednesday that two cold-chain storage workers in the port city of Tianjin were infected with&nbsp;Covid-19, as the country shifts focus to contaminated&nbsp;imports&nbsp;after a number of outbreaks linked to&nbsp;frozen&nbsp;food.

Mass-testing campaigns have been rolled out after reports of coronavirus traces on imported&nbsp;food&nbsp;and packaging, with state TV showing workers hosing down&nbsp;food&nbsp;transport trucks with disinfectant and inspecting packages of&nbsp;frozen&nbsp;salmon.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-the-two-front-runners-in-the-vaccine-race-343777/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

In Wuhan, where&nbsp;Covid-19 first emerged late last year, authorities said Friday they had detected traces of the virus on&nbsp;frozen&nbsp;beef from Brazil.

Four more cities reported last week that samples from imported&nbsp;food,&nbsp;including&nbsp;frozen&nbsp;Argentinian pork and Indian cuttlefish, had tested&nbsp;positive.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/beijing-orders-ban-on-frozen-food-from-countries-with-major-coronavirus-outbreaks-330927">Beijing orders ban on frozen food from countries with major coronavirus outbreaks</a>

Customs inspectors across the country have so far tested more than 800,000 samples from refrigerated&nbsp;imports&nbsp;and suspended shipments from 99 overseas suppliers, senior customs official Bi Kexin told a press conference last week.

Authorities have stepped up screening since traces of the coronavirus were found on equipment used to process imported salmon after a June outbreak.&nbsp;

In Tianjin, officials said the two infected workers "had previously both had contact with contaminated cold-chain&nbsp;food&nbsp;products".

Customs data in September showed that Chinese meat&nbsp;imports&nbsp;had increased by more than 70 percent this year as the country's&nbsp;food&nbsp;supply was disrupted by swine fever and heavy flooding which destroyed swathes of farmland.

The World Health Organization says "there is currently no evidence that people can catch&nbsp;COVID-19 from&nbsp;food&nbsp;or&nbsp;food&nbsp;packaging".

In a World&nbsp;Trade&nbsp;Organization (WTO) meeting on November&nbsp;5-6, Canada called&nbsp;China's&nbsp;testing of imported&nbsp;foods and rejection of products that had positive nucleic acid&nbsp;tests&nbsp;"unjustified&nbsp;trade&nbsp;restrictions" and urged it to stop it, said a Geneva-based&nbsp;trade&nbsp;official briefed on the meeting who declined to be identified.

Supported by Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Britain, and the United States, Canada argued that China had not provided scientific justification for the measures, said the official.

Canada's Geneva-based mission to the WTO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has only intensified its imported&nbsp;food&nbsp;screening since then.

This week, the Global Times, a tabloid&nbsp;backed by the ruling Communist Party, suggested that the presence of the novel&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;on imported&nbsp;food&nbsp;raised the possibility that the virus, widely believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, may have come from overseas.

China began testing chilled and frozen&nbsp;food&nbsp;imports for the virus in June, after a cluster of infections among workers at a wholesale&nbsp;food&nbsp;market in the capital.

The World Health Organization says neither&nbsp;food&nbsp;nor packaging is known transmission routes for the virus.

But China, which has all-but stamped out local transmission of the disease, says there is risk of the virus re-entering the country on&nbsp;food&nbsp;products.

'Is&nbsp;it&nbsp;true?'

The&nbsp;pushback&nbsp;came after months of growing frustration at the way customs and health authorities have been increasingly scrutinising imports, which&nbsp;trade&nbsp;partners&nbsp;complain does not adhere to global norms.

"Whenever a health authority performs a test, and finds something, they should share the results," said a Beijing-based diplomat who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.

"We haven't received one single lab analysis," he said. "Everyone is asking 'Is it true? Did they really find anything?' Everyone is surprised that no proof is given."

On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also questioned&nbsp;China's&nbsp;findings, after the city of Jinan said it had detected&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;on frozen New Zealand beef.

Ardern said she was confident no meat products were exported from her country with the&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;but no clarification had come from China.

In August, Brazilian officials travelled to the city of Shenzhen after it found traces of the&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;on chicken wings from their country.

Authorities could not provide information on whether they had found the active virus or not, the Brazilian agriculture ministry said.

The United States said on Tuesday it asked China "bilaterally" and at the WTO to ensure its measures "appropriately assess actual risks, particularly when they unjustifiably restrict&nbsp;trade."

"China's&nbsp;most recent COVID-19 restrictions on imported&nbsp;food&nbsp;products are not based on science and threaten to disrupt&nbsp;trade," the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

In its response at the WTO, China said its actions were "provisional based on scientific basis" and designed to "protect people's lives to the maximum extent", according to a Chinese&nbsp;trade&nbsp;official.

China has pointed to its isolation of live&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;from samples on imported frozen cod, a world-first, as proof, though with the evidence unpublished, that the&nbsp;coronavirus&nbsp;can be transmitted from&nbsp;food&nbsp;to people.

Speaking at a&nbsp;food&nbsp;safety conference this month, Gudrun Gallhoff, minister counsellor for health and&nbsp;food&nbsp;safety at the European Union delegation to China, said exporters needed more information on&nbsp;China's&nbsp;test methods and results.

"If you have&nbsp;trade&nbsp;partners&nbsp;you have to treat them fairly and give them a chance to be complicit," she said.

Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China's scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction.

Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China's scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction. China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German pork and Brazilian beef but foreign officials say the lack of evidence produced by authorities means it is damaging trade and hurting the reputation of imported food without reason. Also read: Chinese citizen journalist who uncovered COVID-19 truth faces possibility of jail time: Reports Chinese health officials said Wednesday that two cold-chain storage workers in the port city of Tianjin were infected with Covid-19, as the country shifts focus to contaminated imports after a number of outbreaks linked to frozen food. Mass-testing campaigns have been rolled out after reports of coronavirus traces on imported food and packaging, with state TV showing workers hosing down food transport trucks with disinfectant and inspecting packages of frozen salmon. In Wuhan, where Covid-19 first emerged late last year, authorities said Friday they had detected traces of the virus on frozen beef from Brazil. Four more cities reported last week that samples from imported food, including frozen Argentinian pork and Indian cuttlefish, had tested positive. Also read: Beijing orders ban on frozen food from countries with major coronavirus outbreaks Customs inspectors across the country have so far tested more than 800,000 samples from refrigerated imports and suspended shipments from 99 overseas suppliers, senior customs official Bi Kexin told a press conference last week. Authorities have stepped up screening since traces of the coronavirus were found on equipment used to process imported salmon after a June outbreak. In Tianjin, officials said the two infected workers "had previously both had contact with contaminated cold-chain food products". Customs data in September showed that Chinese meat imports had increased by more than 70 percent this year as the country's food supply was disrupted by swine fever and heavy flooding which destroyed swathes of farmland. The World Health Organization says "there is currently no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from food or food packaging". In a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on November 5-6, Canada called China's testing of imported foods and rejection of products that had positive nucleic acid tests "unjustified trade restrictions" and urged it to stop it, said a Geneva-based trade official briefed on the meeting who declined to be identified. Supported by Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Britain, and the United States, Canada argued that China had not provided scientific justification for the measures, said the official. Canada's Geneva-based mission to the WTO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has only intensified its imported food screening since then. This week, the Global Times, a tabloid backed by the ruling Communist Party, suggested that the presence of the novel coronavirus on imported food raised the possibility that the virus, widely believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, may have come from overseas. China began testing chilled and frozen food imports for the virus in June, after a cluster of infections among workers at a wholesale food market in the capital. The World Health Organization says neither food nor packaging is known transmission routes for the virus. But China, which has all-but stamped out local transmission of the disease, says there is risk of the virus re-entering the country on food products. 'Is it true?' The pushback came after months of growing frustration at the way customs and health authorities have been increasingly scrutinising imports, which trade partners complain does not adhere to global norms. "Whenever a health authority performs a test, and finds something, they should share the results," said a Beijing-based diplomat who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media. "We haven't received one single lab analysis," he said. "Everyone is asking 'Is it true? Did they really find anything?' Everyone is surprised that no proof is given." On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also questioned China's findings, after the city of Jinan said it had detected coronavirus on frozen New Zealand beef. Ardern said she was confident no meat products were exported from her country with the coronavirus but no clarification had come from China. In August, Brazilian officials travelled to the city of Shenzhen after it found traces of the coronavirus on chicken wings from their country. Authorities could not provide information on whether they had found the active virus or not, the Brazilian agriculture ministry said. The United States said on Tuesday it asked China "bilaterally" and at the WTO to ensure its measures "appropriately assess actual risks, particularly when they unjustifiably restrict trade." "China's most recent COVID-19 restrictions on imported food products are not based on science and threaten to disrupt trade," the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. In its response at the WTO, China said its actions were "provisional based on scientific basis" and designed to "protect people's lives to the maximum extent", according to a Chinese trade official. China has pointed to its isolation of live coronavirus from samples on imported frozen cod, a world-first, as proof, though with the evidence unpublished, that the coronavirus can be transmitted from food to people. Speaking at a food safety conference this month, Gudrun Gallhoff, minister counsellor for health and food safety at the European Union delegation to China, said exporters needed more information on China's test methods and results. "If you have trade partners you have to treat them fairly and give them a chance to be complicit," she said.

Major food-producing countries push back on China's scrutiny of imported products

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China bolsters global trade ties with zero-tariff initiative for developing nations

Major food-producing countries push back on China's scrutiny of imported products