The Annual Retreat of the Group of African Ambassadors in China will be held under the auspices of AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and organised by the AU Permanent Mission to China, led by Ambassador Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, the AU Permanent Representative to the People’s Republic of China.

The retreat is themed “Leveraging China’s 100% Tariff-Free Offer to Foster Development and Prosperity in Africa” and is expected to focus on building a unified African approach to operationalising the initiative, expanding market access and accelerating delivery on Agenda 2063 and outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

AU officials say a key aim is to align China’s tariff-free offer with the priorities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and flagship Agenda 2063 programmes, in order to ensure that external trade opportunities strengthen, rather than fragment, Africa’s integration agenda.

Discussions are expected to cover financing options and productivity-enhancing tools, lessons from African countries already benefiting from early-stage Sino-African trade and the development of stronger Africa-China knowledge systems through research and policy work on the supply and demand dynamics of African goods.

The retreat will also explore mechanisms to scale trade and investment by supporting industrialisation, agro-processing, manufacturing, special economic zones and regional value chains, with a particular focus on standards, quality infrastructure and information-sharing platforms that help African exporters compete.

The meeting will feature representatives from the AU Commission’s trade and industry structures, the AfCFTA Secretariat and Chinese counterparts from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce, as well as China’s development agency.

The retreat takes place ahead of the planned entry into force of China’s 100% tariff-free offer on May 1, 2026, and is positioned as a shift from policy declarations to coordinated implementation.