• China will grant duty-free access to South African goods without requiring reciprocal tariff cuts.
• Pretoria and Beijing signed the CAEPA framework on February 6 and aim to conclude an “Early Harvest Agreement” by end-March 2026.
• Bilateral trade reached $53.58 billion in 2025, while South Africa seeks to offset U.S. tariffs of up to 30% imposed under the Trump administration.

China will not demand reciprocity under the recently signed economic and trade partnership agreement with South Africa, Chinese Ambassador to Pretoria Wu Peng announced.

“In this process, China will fully consider South Africa’s interests and will not seek reciprocity,” the diplomat said in remarks reported last week by the South China Morning Post.

As a result, South African goods will enter the Chinese market duty-free, while Pretoria will not need to lower its own tariffs on Chinese imports.

China and South Africa signed a framework economic partnership agreement on February 6 known as CAEPA (Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity). The agreement aims to increase trade flows and investment between the two BRICS members.

However, CAEPA does not yet constitute a full free trade agreement. Instead, the framework establishes a negotiation architecture that both sides intend to develop further. Pretoria and Beijing committed to conclude an “Early Harvest Agreement” by the end of March 2026. The partial trade deal should include tariff preferences and could grant duty-free access for selected South African exports.

The agreement has nevertheless raised concerns in South Africa about potential reciprocity requirements that could destabilize several domestic industries, including the automotive sector. Beijing’s decision to waive reciprocity addresses those concerns directly.

China announced the move as it prepares to eliminate tariffs on all imports from African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations starting May 1, 2026. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the generalized exemption during the 39th annual summit of the African Union held on February 14 and 15 in Addis Ababa. The measure excludes Eswatini, which remains Taiwan’s last diplomatic ally in Africa.

Beijing aims to rebalance trade ties with the continent through the tariff exemption. China remains Africa’s largest trading partner and runs a substantial trade surplus with the continent, which has drawn criticism for several years.

In January, the South African government threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese and Indian vehicles to curb a sharp increase in imports from those countries.

Chinese Africa-focused business lawyer Kai Xue said the agreement between Beijing and Pretoria “should also benefit Chinese companies operating in South Africa,” according to the South China Morning Post.

He added that the non-reciprocal and duty-free access to the vast Chinese market offered to all African countries except Eswatini aims to strengthen the viability of special economic zones and industrial parks where many Chinese firms operate.

Meanwhile, Pretoria seeks to diversify its trade partners to protect export competitiveness after the Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 30% on several South African products.

South Africa ranks as China’s largest trading partner in Africa. Africa’s most industrialized economy exports wine, fruit, cereals, rooibos and a broad range of minerals to the Asian economic giant. Bilateral trade reached $53.58 billion in 2025.

Walid Kéfi