China Grants Zimbabwe Duty-Free Access for 9,000 Products Until 2028

China activated a unilateral zero-tariff preferential market access arrangement for Zimbabwe, effective May 1, 2026, covering nearly 9,000 product lines. Information Minister Soda Zhemu confirmed the two-year deal, which stems from the 2024 Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, will run until April 30, 2028. The policy directly bypasses traditional trade negotiation hurdles, offering Harare a critical export lifeline. The core vulnerability remains Zimbabwe's productive capacity; without a rapid industrial scale-up, the nation risks failing to capitalize on the preferential window, ceding the advantage to more agile competitors.