China, Seychelles sign early harvest arrangement on tariffs and market access

China and Seychelles signed an Arrangement on Early Harvest on September 10, 2026, taking forward their joint economic partnership, the Ministry of Commerce said. Under the arrangement, China will extend zero-tariff treatment to Seychelles, while Seychelles will further open its market to Chinese goods.

The signing is part of a wider Chinese push to advance the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development, an agreement Beijing aims to negotiate and conclude with other African countries. As part of that effort, China is implementing 100-percent-tariff-line zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic ties.

Beijing has framed the measure as a way to give those countries access to its large domestic market and broader development opportunities, and to provide long-term, stable and predictable institutional guarantees for trade and investment between China and Africa.

The policy took effect on May 1 this year, when China expanded its zero-tariff treatment to cover all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. According to the ministry, this made China the first major economy to offer unilateral, full-coverage zero-tariff treatment to all African countries with diplomatic ties, as well as to all least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations.

The expansion is intended to create new openings for African exports and industrialization at a time when global trade faces protectionist headwinds.