Walk into a supermarket in China today, and you may find more than just familiar domestic produce. Avocados from Kenya, pineapples from Benin and tangy tangerines from South Africa are increasingly gracing supermarket shelves across China.

These fresh, high-quality African agricultural goods are evolving from niche imports into mainstream consumer favorites, serving as vivid examples of booming China-Africa trade and inclusive win-win cooperation.

Backed by China's zero-tariff preferential policies and unprecedented market access and high-standard opening up, China's super-large market is releasing tangible development dividends, empowering African agricultural upgrade and bringing robust, long-term opportunities for Global South countries.

Since May this year, China has expanded its zero-tariff treatment to cover all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties, creating new opportunities for Africa to boost exports and industrialization amid the global headwinds of protectionism.

Official data shows explosive growth in bilateral agricultural trade. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, China's imports from Africa reached 193.8 billion yuan (about $28.72 billion) in May and June, up 23.5% year on year. Imports of avocados, apples and oranges surged by 130%, 89.6% and 27.9%, respectively.

Expanding market

At the stroke of midnight on May 1, 24 tonnes of fresh South African apples passed through customs at China's Shenzhen Bay Port, becoming the first shipment to benefit from China's zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries.

Since then, Kenyan avocados, South African wine, Zimbabwean blueberries and other quality African specialities have made their way onto supermarket shelves across China, bringing the benefits of the treatment closer to consumers' daily lives.

In recent years, as China‑Africa agricultural cooperation continues to deepen – especially following China's implementation of zero‑tariff measures for African countries – Kenya's avocado industrial chain has been accelerating its shift toward deep‑processing.

Spanning fresh‑fruit cultivation, procurement, processing and export, an emerging industry built around avocado is taking shape across the East African highlands. The participation of Chinese enterprises has become a key driver behind the transformation and upgrade of local agricultural industries.

As Chinese enterprises ramp up their production lines, an increasing number of local farmers are gaining confidence in avocado cultivation and are willing to expand their planting areas. Zero-tariff measures have significantly reduced tariff costs for companies exporting to the Chinese market, allowing them to allocate more funds toward training and technical support for local farmers.

Beyond tariff reductions, China has broadened market access for African exports in recent years via "green channels" and other trade‑facilitation instruments. Since late April, China has rolled out unified regional quarantine clearance for African dry chilies, coffee beans, cashew nuts and wild aquatic products, removing the need for piecemeal bilateral negotiation for each product.

Fueled by the preferential tariff treatment, Zimbabwe shipped its maiden batch of blueberries to China in July. The shipment stands as a landmark achievement for Zimbabwe's horticultural sector, unlocking entry into one of the world's largest consumer markets.

The zero-tariff treatment is one of the most significant trade openings Zimbabwean exporters have been offered in recent years, Allan Majuru, chief executive officer of the national trade promotion body ZimTrade, wrote in a newspaper column in June.

"Access to China opens room for increased production, stronger cold-chain infrastructure, better packaging, more certification capacity and expanded employment along the value chain," Majuru said.

Pursuit of modernization

Observers are recognizing that against the backdrop of mounting constraints on international trade, China's expanded market access and opening up carries positive implications for Africa's economic growth.

James Shikwati, a Kenyan economist, notes that the zero‑tariff policy translates the shared vision of China‑Africa joint pursuit of modernization into concrete actions.

Official data showed China's exports of electromechanical products to Africa reached 534.11 billion yuan (about $79 billion) in the first half of 2026, up 28.8% year on year. About 75% of China's exports to Africa are capital and intermediate goods, mainly productive inputs that support Africa's industrialization and agricultural modernization.

Yu Jia, a research fellow at the Institute of New Structural Economics at China's Peking University, said the zero-tariff treatment is not a one-off, short-term tariff concession, but marks a new stage in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, driven by institutional opening-up.

"For African businesses and multinational investors alike, predictability itself is a valuable resource for development," Yu said.

"What China offers is far more than aid. It delivers vital opportunities for Africa to achieve its own transformation through production, trade and industrial advancement," Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria, commented.

Africa boasts a youthful demographic profile and abundant labor resources, giving it solid potential to realize industrialization, Onunaiju added.