When more than 6,000 bottles of South African wine cleared customs at Changsha Huanghua International Airport in central China’s Hunan Province on May 1, the importer received an immediate benefit from China’s expanded tariff-free treatment for African goods, which amounted to 21,000 yuan (about $3,069) in duty savings.

According to Zhang Xin, chairman of Hunan Express Wisdom Information Technology Co Ltd, South African wine was previously subject to a 14 per cent tariff in China. Now that the tariff has been slashed to zero, the company anticipates an annual cost reduction of approximately 5 million yuan. This shipment was among the first in Hunan to benefit after China expanded zero-tariff treatment to goods from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, broadening an earlier policy that covered the least-developed countries among them.

Under the upgraded policy, China has become the first major economy to offer unilateral, across-the-board zero-tariff treatment to all its African diplomatic partners and to all least-developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations.

For this inland Chinese province, one of the country’s busiest regional players in terms of trade with Africa, the tariff cut is more than just a customs adjustment.

Local officials and companies see it as a way to lower import costs and draw more African raw materials and consumer goods through Hunan, including some products bound for re-export.

Hunan has spent years trying to position itself as an inland gateway for China-Africa commerce, using the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation as its main platforms.

The province’s trade with Africa has grown by an average of 15 percent a year to 58 billion yuan, ranking first among provinces in central and western China. The latest move follows an earlier policy that took effect on December 1, 2024, when China granted zero-tariff treatment on all tariff lines to the least-developed countries with which it has diplomatic ties, including 33 African countries.

From that day to March 31 this year, Changsha Customs processed around 26.98 million yuan in tariff reductions for Hunan imports from those African least-developed countries. The policy has, notably, coincided with stronger import growth.

Hunan’s imports from Africa rose 27.2 per cent year-on-year to 30.92 billion yuan in 2025. In the first four months of 2026, its total trade with Africa reached 18.16 billion yuan, up 8.8 per cent from a year earlier, with imports increasing 29.4 per cent to 10.41 billion yuan.

The new broader coverage could have a bigger effect because it involves several of Hunan’s main African suppliers, including Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Between January 2025 and March 2026, imports from these five countries accounted for 98.1 per cent of total tariffs collected from Hunan’s imports from Africa.

Lan Shengbin, deputy head of Changsha Customs, said some Hunan manufacturers had previously paid tariffs of 7 to 10 per cent on components from countries such as Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

Removing such duties will lower production costs and help companies diversify their supply chains, he said. The benefits are also likely to extend to agricultural products and raw materials used in sectors like biomedicine, Lan added. Hunan is trying to turn its tariff savings into a broader trade model, using the province as a point for importing, processing and redistributing African goods, including some products re-exported to overseas markets.

One example came in July 2024, when 400 fresh roses from Kenya were imported into Changsha and then re-exported through the Changsha Huanghua Comprehensive Bonded Zone to Uzbekistan. It was China’s first re-export transaction involving African fresh flowers, according to Changsha Customs.

Hunan Xiyue Culture Media Co Ltd, the importer, now brings in flowers, fruit and ornamental fish from Africa, some of which are shipped on to overseas markets. Huang Zinan, a company executive, said the tariff cuts would reduce import costs, improve cash flow and allow African products to be sold at more competitive prices.

Consumer goods are another target. During the May Day holiday, an African goods market in Changsha drew approximately 89,000 visitors over six days. Organisers said lower import costs for raw materials had allowed prices to be reduced on some products, including chocolate made with Ghanaian cocoa, shea-butter products from Mali and coffee from Zambia.

Hunan Yufei Industry Investment Co Ltd, which helped organise the market, said its Quality African Products brand now covers more than 400 products from 13 African countries, ranging from coffee and avocados to spices.

Hunan authorities are seeking to turn the tariff change into a wider trade push. In late April, the provincial commerce department announced seven measures covering expanded imports from Africa, overseas warehouse services, industrial capacity cooperation and more China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo activities in African countries. Coffee retailers are also moving to take advantage.

Coffee Z, a Changsha-based chain focused on African specialty coffee, plans to expand direct sourcing from Ethiopia and Kenya, founder Jing Jianhua said. The company is also speeding up the rollout of both an industry platform and AI-enabled coffee equipment across China.

“We will use the zero-tariff policy as an opportunity to bring more high-quality, affordable African coffee to consumers across China,” Jing noted.

• A Tell Media / Xinhua report