An aerial view of Dalian Port, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Photos: VCG

The trade volume between Northeast China and African countries saw a year-on-year increase of 82.1 percent in the first half of 2026, as China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has continued to deepen, Dalian Daily reported on Sunday, citing data from the Dalian Customs.

The data is surpassing the national average growth rate for trade with Africa by 62.5 percentage points, the customs said. Among this, exports amounted to 28.63 billion yuan ($4.2 billion), up 94.5 percent, and imports reached 2.79 billion yuan, up 10.3 percent.

The data follows the full implementation of China's zero-tariff measures starting on May 1 for all 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.

Northeast China's imports of agricultural products from Africa reached 230 million yuan, an increase of 90.8 percent. This included aquatic products worth 52.85 million yuan, up 414.5 percent; grain worth 16.78 million yuan, up 4.5 percent; and textile raw materials worth 110 million yuan, up 299.1 percent.

In the first half of the year, Northeast China exported 21.63 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products to Africa, an increase of 126.8 percent. This included ships worth 13.47 billion yuan, up 305.4 percent; automobiles worth 3.02 billion yuan, up 87.1 percent; and electrical equipment worth 830 million yuan, up 108.8 percent.

The region's exports of high-tech products to Africa reached 14.03 billion yuan, up 261.4 percent, among which high-end equipment exports were 13.72 billion yuan, up 293.7 percent. 

At the same time, a number of small and medium-sized equipment categories are also growing rapidly, with exports of sewing machine parts, textile machinery, and packaging machinery increasing by 519.4 percent, 68.6 percent, and 29.8 percent, respectively.

Starting May 1, China has granted zero-tariff treatment to 20 African countries with diplomatic ties with China that are not classified as least developed countries (LDCs), following its tariff removal on all tariff lines for imports from 33 African LDCs with diplomatic ties since December 1, 2024.

China is the world's first major economy to unilaterally grant tariff-free treatment to all African countries with diplomatic ties.

Global Times