ACCRA, Nov. 17 — Ghana will be among the first countries to benefit from China’s zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Tong Defa has said. Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Tong said China and Ghana have reached a consensus in principle on the early harvest arrangements of the agreement on economic partnership for shared development, which marks an important step in implementing China’s zero-tariff policy. The ambassador described the Chinese initiative as a proactive measure to expand its opening-up, aimed at creating new development opportunities for developing countries, particularly in Africa. Tong expressed hope that the implementation of the zero-tariff policy would enable Ghanaian products, such as cocoa products, cashews, rice, shea butter, textiles, and handicrafts, to gain better access to China and activate production capacity in Ghana. He said the initiative would also enable Ghana to attract more investment, promote the continuous extension of the industrial chain, drive the overall industrial development, and share the achievements of China’s super-large market and its modernization. At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit last year, China announced that it would give all the least developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. This year, China decided to extend the zero-tariff arrangement to 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.
Xinhua
