Trade between the Chinese city of Jinhua and Africa totaled 161.41 billion yuan from January through September, a 35.3% increase from the same period a year earlier. Exports from Jinhua rose 29.6% to 144.51 billion yuan, representing the highest value of any Chinese city and accounting for 10.3% of China's total exports to Africa. The growth reflects Jinhua's competitive advantage in what China describes as its 'new trio' of export categories: lithium batteries, photovoltaic products and electric passenger vehicles, all of which are finding strong demand in African markets.
The expansion is partly driven by Africa's rapid shift toward green energy. Zhejiang Jujiang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which manufactures battery packs for home energy storage and specialized power applications, said that its products have been well received in Africa because they address the region's limited grid coverage, frequent power outages and high costs of diesel generation. Meanwhile, African products are also increasingly flowing into Jinhua. Imports into the Jinyi Comprehensive Bonded Zone from Africa reached 2.81 billion yuan from January through September, up 253.4% year on year. This growth was aided by China's decision on May 1, 2026 to extend zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, which significantly reduced the import cost of copper and other raw metals.
Cooperation between Jinhua and Africa is extending well beyond simple goods trade. The city's companies are now involved in green industries, the digital economy, agricultural technology and industrial park development. About 30,000 businesspeople from Jinhua are engaged in long-term trade and business operations in Africa, and the city is home to 2,675 African-invested enterprises, the most of any city in Zhejiang Province. Agricultural technology represents a growing focus, with Jinhua companies supplying machinery suited to local conditions, sharing crop-growing techniques and providing training to develop a cohort of 100 African agricultural specialists through the China-Africa (Jinhua) Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Park and the China-Mozambique 'Belt and Road' Joint Laboratory on Smart Agriculture.
Educational ties are strengthening alongside commercial links. Local institutions including Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua University of Vocational Technology and Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College have provided education to more than 15,000 students from over 50 African countries and regions. Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College alone has enrolled 1,190 international students from 38 African countries since 2007. Cultural exchanges are also expanding, with the Zhejiang Wuju Opera Art Research Institute having toured 17 African countries with 52 performances reaching more than 2 million people. Since 2018, Jinhua has organized more than 60 China-Africa cultural exchange and cooperation events, reaching over 40 African countries and more than 100 million people across the continent.
For Tanzania and other East African nations, Jinhua's expansion signals growing opportunities for trade in agricultural products and raw materials, as well as potential access to Chinese green energy technology and expertise. The zero-tariff treatment extended to all African countries creates conditions for increased exports from the region to China, while partnerships in agricultural technology and vocational education offer pathways for skills development and industrial advancement.