African ambassadors in China concluded a two-day high-level diplomatic retreat on Friday with renewed commitments to strengthen coordination aimed at boosting trade, building regional value chains and aligning cooperation with the Agenda 2063.

The retreat, themed "Leveraging China's 100 Percent Tariff-Free Offer to Foster Development and Prosperity in Africa", focused on operationalization of China's proposed 100 percent tariff-free access to imports from 53 African countries starting May 1.

According to a statement by the African Union Mission to China, participants called on closer coordination and exchanges between China and African countries to more effectively implement the policy. African exporters were also urged to ensure compliance with Chinese market standards to fully take advantage of the tariff-free opportunity.

The retreat also highlighted the importance of strengthening trade promotion efforts. Participants encouraged more trade missions and active participation in trade fairs organized by both sides, including the China International Import Expo, the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and the Intra-African Trade Fair.

Speaking at the retreat, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of African Union Development Agency, said the implementation of zero tariffs comes at a time when the global trading system is facing increasing strain, with many economies becoming more protectionist rather than more open.

She noted, however, that African exporters have to improve productive readiness — the ability to produce at scale, meet standards consistently, finance orders, move goods competitively and supply markets reliably----to fully benefit from the zero-tariff measures.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn