Kenya has struck a preliminary trade deal with China that would give 98% of its exports duty-free access to the large Chinese market.
The Nairobi government announced the deal in a statement released on Thursday, with a full, final agreement in the pipeline.
The East African nation has been forging closer ties with China, with President William Ruto making a state visit to Beijing last year during which a number of financing and cooperation agreements were signed.
The deal stems from Beijing’s move towards eliminating all trade tariffs applied to the 53 African states with which it has diplomatic relations, analysts said, announced last June in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff blitz.
