In his congratulatory message to the 39th African Union (AU) Summit at Addis Ababa, he highlighted efforts to upgrade the ‘green channel’ for African exports.
President Xi Jinping has announced that China will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties from May 1.
In his message to the 39th African Union Summit at Addis Ababa, he highlighted efforts to upgrade the ‘green channel’ for African exports.
UN chief Antonio Guterres praised the decision and called for other countries to take the same measure.
Praising the policy decision, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed at the Summit “to all developed countries and to all countries with a large economic potential to take exactly the same measure.”
“Africa needs free trade for its goods, and Africa cannot be penalised, being a continent with enormous economic difficulties, by trade policies that are restrictive and by tariffs that do not allow African products to be competitive,” the UN chief was quoted as saying by a Chinese state-controlled media outlet.
Noting the ‘multiplication of tariffs’ in recent times, Guterres reiterated his strong support for free trade and his advocacy for “reducing the tariff levels at the global level in order to be able to provide for global prosperity”.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
