This is President Putin’s 25th visit to China, fully demonstrating the high level and special nature of China-Russia relations, Xi said.

Over the past 30 years, the positioning of China-Russia relations has been continuously elevated, reaching the highest level in history as a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era and setting an example of a new type of major-country relations, Xi noted.

Over the years, the two countries have made important contributions to upholding international fairness and justice and promoting the building of a new type of international relations, becoming a key constant amidst profound global changes unseen in a century, he said.

Xi called for efforts to consolidate higher-quality political mutual trust and strengthen strategic support for each other. He said the two sides should further support each other firmly on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns, while continuing to strengthen strategic communication and exchanges at all levels.

The Chinese president stressed the need for China and Russia to empower higher-quality mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly promote their respective development and revitalization. The two sides should deepen the alignment between China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) and Russia’s development strategy through 2030, and enhance and upgrade mutually beneficial cooperation across various fields, Xi said.

Xi stressed the need to promote higher-quality people-to-people exchanges and strengthen the foundation for lasting friendship between the two peoples across generations.

The two sides should take the China-Russia Years of Education initiative as an opportunity to further expand two-way student exchanges and deepen cooperation between universities and research institutions, he added.

Xi called on China and Russia to pursue higher-quality international coordination and work together to reform and improve global governance.

The two countries should oppose all forms of unilateral bullying and actions that seek to reverse the course of history, especially provocations that deny the outcomes of World War II and attempt to whitewash and revive fascism and militarism, he said.

Putin said Russia-China relations are currently at an unprecedentedly high level, with the two countries consistently advancing bilateral cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, mutual assistance on an equal footing and mutual support.

The cooperation between the two countries is not directed against any third party or affected by geopolitical changes, Putin noted.

Russia and China will maintain close strategic coordination on the international arena, and work together to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and safeguard global security and stability, Putin added. ■

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Xi noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

China-Russia relations have come this far step by step precisely because the two countries have kept deepening political mutual trust and strategic coordination with unyielding tenacity, expanded cooperation with a drive to always scale new heights, and defended international justice and fairness and advanced the building of a community with a shared future for humanity with unflappable resolve, he said.

“As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important major countries in the world, China and Russia should take a strategic and long-term perspective, drive the development and revitalization of our respective countries through comprehensive strategic coordination of even higher quality, and work to make the global governance system more just and reasonable,” Xi said.

China and Russia have developed the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era on the basis of equality, mutual respect, good faith, and win-win cooperation, he said.

Political mutual trust has further deepened, cooperation in various areas such as trade and economy, investment, energy, science and technology, people-to-people and sub-national exchanges continued to advance, and the bonds between the two peoples have grown stronger, Xi added.

The China-Russia relationship has entered a new stage of greater achievements and faster development, he stressed.

Unswervingly promoting the long-term, sound, steady and high-quality development of the China-Russia relationship is a strategic choice by the two sides based on the fundamental interests of the two countries and the global trends, said Xi.

Xi called on China and Russia to fully implement the important common understandings reached by him and Putin, seize the historic opportunities, and further promote the mutual trust, cooperation and friendship of the two countries.

Xi emphasized that both sides should focus on the goals of national development and revitalization, fully leverage the comprehensive and well-established mechanisms of China-Russia cooperation, and strengthen overall planning for cooperation in all respects.

The two countries should also promote the upgrading of practical cooperation in trade and investment, energy and resources, transportation, and sci-tech innovation, and actively explore cooperation in frontier areas, so as to create new engines of growth with new quality productive forces, he added.

Efforts should be made to continue the long-standing friendship between the two sides, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, film, tourism and sports, and consolidate the social and public support for bilateral friendship, Xi noted.

Moreover, both sides should deepen multilateral collaboration, further enhance coordination and cooperation under the frameworks such as the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, and APEC, Xi said.

He also underscored joint efforts to firmly safeguard the post-war international order and the authority of international law, unite the Global South, and guide the reform of the global governance system in the right direction.

Putin said Russia-China relations, under joint efforts from both sides, have reached an unprecedented level, featuring close high-level exchanges and solid political mutual trust.

The two sides have seen a steady increase in bilateral trade, mutually beneficial energy supply and demand, the ever-deepening cooperation in transportation, logistics, science and technology, among others, and sound momentum in people-to-people exchanges, Putin added.

Russia-China relations have withstood tests and grown stronger over time, becoming a paradigm of comprehensive strategic coordination, said Putin.

Stressing that the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation is ever more relevant under the current situation, Putin said Russia is ready to work with China to act in line with the spirit of the Treaty, strengthen strategic coordination and practical cooperation, and promote bilateral relations to a higher level.

Noting that Russia-China bilateral cooperation is an important stabilizing factor in the volatile international situation, Putin said Russia will continue to strengthen multilateral coordination with China, support China in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting successfully, jointly enhance the status and influence of the SCO, strengthen unity and coordination within the BRICS mechanism, uphold the authority of the UN, champion the diversity of civilizations, and promote a more just and equitable international order.

Xi and Putin also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and other major international and regional issues.

They heard reports on the progress of cooperation in areas including investment, energy, economy and trade. The foreign ministers of the two countries reported on the coordination and cooperation between China and Russia in international and regional affairs.

Following the talks, Xi and Putin signed and issued a joint statement on further enhancing comprehensive strategic coordination and deepening good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation between the two countries.

They also witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation documents in areas including the economy and trade, education, and science and technology.

During Putin’s visit, China and Russia issued a joint statement on promoting a multipolar world and a new type of international relations. The two sides also reached 20 cooperation agreements in other fields.

Xi and Putin then jointly met the press.

Prior to their talks, Xi hosted a welcome ceremony for Putin outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, featuring military band performances, a 21-gun salute, and a march-past of the guard of honor. ■

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The spokesperson made the remarks on Trump’s visit to China, the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nine years and Trump’s second since November 2017.

The two presidents agreed on a new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to provide strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond, promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world, the spokesperson said.

The two presidents have reached important common understandings on handling their mutual concerns in a proper manner. They both agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional issues, the spokesperson added.

Interactions between the two presidents have enhanced mutual understanding, deepened mutual trust, advanced practical cooperation, increased benefits for the people of both countries, and injected much-needed stability and certainty into the world.

Trump is on a three-day state visit to China. On Thursday, Xi held a welcome ceremony and a welcome banquet for Trump, and held talks and visited the Temple of Heaven with him.  ■

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump had a private meeting on Friday in the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in central Beijing.

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POLICY SUPPORT SPARKS VITALITY

China has stepped up policy support to unlock the potential of the holiday economy, with targeted measures ranging from optimized vacation arrangements to trade-in incentives effectively unleashing consumption vitality.

China logged around 1.52 billion inter-regional passenger trips during the 2026 five-day May Day holiday, a 3.49-percent increase compared with same period a year earlier, the Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday.

On the logistics front, between April 27 and May 3, national railway freight transport reached 80.8 million tonnes, up 1.63 percent month on month, while cargo throughput at monitored ports hit 278.23 million tonnes, rising 7.64 percent month on month.

China also saw a surge in cross-border travel during this holiday, with nearly 11.3 million entry-exit trips recorded, fueled by growing arrivals of international visitors, including those entering under visa-free policies. Daily border crossings averaged 2.26 million during the holiday that began on May 1, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier and peaking on May 2.

Ministry of Commerce data shows that from May 1 to 4, foot traffic and business revenue of 78 key monitored pedestrian streets and commercial districts rose 5 percent and 5.3 percent year on year, respectively.

Figures from local life services on the TikTok platform reveal that sales of hotel group purchases on the platform surged 86 percent year on year during the holiday, while sales of health and leisure services jumped more than 50 percent from pre-holiday levels.

A 2026 May Day consumption insight report released on May 5 by Meituan, a major online lifestyle platform in China, shows that, driven by the combination of spring holiday and extended leave arrangements, mid-to-long distance trips of over 300 kilometers accounted for 46 percent of total travel orders during the holiday, with Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Nanjing ranking as the top 10 most popular destinations.

“Experience-oriented consumption, through the whole-chain linkage of ‘food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment’ and the integration of multiple formats including commerce, culture, tourism, sports and exhibitions, has become an important force to stimulate the deep vitality of domestic demand,” said Dong Yu, executive vice president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University.

In addition to the explosive growth in service consumption, goods consumption, especially large-ticket items, has also picked up steam, supported by favorable trade-in policies.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance in April allocated 62.5 billion yuan (about 9.1 billion U.S. dollars) in new ultra-long special treasury bonds to local governments, the second batch of funds raised through such bonds for the programs this year, to support the steady implementation of consumer goods trade-in programs.

Many localities, meanwhile, rolled out targeted policies to boost trade-ins during the May Day consumption window.

As of May 4, the 2026 consumer goods trade-in program had benefited 86.2 million people, driving total sales of 629.27 billion yuan, official data reveals.

SUPPLY-DEMAND INNOVATIONS

This year’s May Day consumption market has presented notable new trends, marking the transition of China’s consumer market from quantitative recovery to qualitative upgrading, while there is still considerable room for domestic demand to be unleashed, said Hong Yong, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Hong pointed out three major shifts — consumption motivation has changed from “destination-driven” to “interest-driven,” consumption scenarios have expanded from “standardized scenic spots” to “personalized experience spaces,” and policy effects have upgraded from “single subsidy” to “ecosystem coordination.”

Young consumers are increasingly pursuing in-depth travel experiences. Meituan data reveals that the total order value of small group tours in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China rose 20 percent year on year during the May Day holiday, while average daily consumption of “exclusive family group tours” soared 555 percent year on year in this region.

On the goods consumption front, AI-enabled home appliances have become top sellers, with sales up 63 percent year on year between May 1 and 5, while passenger flow at core stores rose 50 percent, according to data provided by Suning, a leading Chinese home appliance retailer.

Holiday travel and recording demand has, notably, boosted sales of trendy gadgets including high-end camera phones, AI glasses and action cameras.

Innovative ecosystem coordination practices have also emerged across the country to boost consumption. Xinxiang, a city in central China’s Henan Province, has launched a “ticket stub economic alliance” covering 166 shops, where tourists can enjoy a discount of 5 percent at restaurants and 20-percent discount at chain hotels and homestays via any consumption receipt from alliance merchants, connecting the consumption closed loop of accommodation, catering and retail.

“One ticket stub connects hundreds of stores, which not only allows consumers to enjoy discounts, but also improves the mutual drainage efficiency of merchants, encouraging tourists to stay longer, have a meal and shop more,” Wednesday’s People’s Daily quoted an official with the Xinxiang Municipal Bureau of Commerce as saying.

Zhang Li, assistant minister of commerce, said China will continue to promote the pilot construction of new consumption formats, models and scenarios, accelerate the cultivation of carriers such as service consumption clusters, and build a number of new consumption scenarios integrating commerce, tourism, culture, sports and health, to further unleash consumption momentum.

Analysts noted that the strong performance of the May Day consumption market fully demonstrates the considerable resilience and upgrading potential of China’s domestic demand, which will provide solid support for the steady growth of the Chinese economy throughout the year. ■

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After an hour and a half, I arrived at Yibin Station and went to Lizhuang ancient town. I was struck by the cultural richness and economic vitality of this small town.

On the banks of the Yangtze, China’s longest river, Lizhuang has well-preserved the architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), including intricate wood carvings, curved tiled roofs, and stone streets.

Lizhuang has a deep wartime legacy, when it became a sanctuary for over 10,000 displaced students and scholars. Local villagers opened their homes, halls and temples, sheltering these refugees and safeguarding China’s cultural heritage.

As I wandered through a courtyard repurposed as an education museum, I came upon a family that had driven from Chengdu. The parents said Lizhuang was the first stop on their five-day May Day holiday, a choice to immerse their children in history.

“We hope this trip ignites in them a deep appreciation for history and patriotism,” said Liu Dan, the mother. “It’s crucial for them to understand that education is a beacon that can alter destiny, even in dark times.”

The town’s museums showcase its connections with prestigious universities such as Tongji, Tsinghua and Fudan. Nine of the 81 academicians elected by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1948 had ties to Lizhuang.

Speaking with Liu’s 15-year-old daughter, I saw her eyes bright with understanding. “This visit opened my eyes,” she said. “We learned great universities can change a place and its people. Scholars’ knowledge even solved the local ‘salt poisoning’ crisis and improved people’s lives.”

“It motivates us to study harder,” she continued firmly. “By getting into a good university and choosing the right path, we can serve our country meaningfully.” She told me her dream is to study law at a top Chinese university.

As I stood, perched looking down on the street, I saw tourists dining in a restaurant in an ancestral hall that served the town’s famous thinly sliced white meat with savory sauce. Nearby, children in Hanfu twirled and laughed, their silk sleeves flowing as they enjoyed a professional photo session arranged by their parents.

At Lizhuang ancient town, a scene of history, culture, and vitality unfolds. This is why parents and kids come here for holidays. They can tour, experience, learn and spend.

Traveling to ancient towns is becoming increasingly popular among city dwellers during holidays, with examples such as Wuzhen in east China’s Zhejiang Province and Beijing WTown in Beijing. But as Chinese people’s demands grow, the market’s future depends on meeting needs for deep cultural resonance and emotional satisfaction.

Shao Yong, a professor with Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, said urban and rural renewal and rural revitalization require a profound understanding of their living nature and cultural connotations, through which local villages can transition from simply being saved to truly flourishing.

China will promote the in-depth integration of culture and tourism, uphold the principle of “shaping tourism through culture and highlighting culture via tourism,” and advance the construction of a strong tourism country, according to the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for economic and social development.  ■

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For hundreds of farmers in Kayonza, expanding chili exports to China is opening a viable path out of poverty, driven by China’s zero-tariff policy and strong market demand. What began as a small farming operation has rapidly evolved into a life-changing opportunity for farmers, workers and exporters alike across the continent.

Starting May 1, China’s zero-tariff policy takes full effect for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, as announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a congratulatory message to the 39th African Union Summit on Feb. 14.

Observers say that the policy will further dismantle trade barriers, deepen China-Africa cooperation, and generate lasting benefits for the people of China and Africa, opening new avenues for jointly advancing modernization.

ZERO TARIFFS, BIG GAINS

In Rwanda, many local companies are looking to capitalize on the zero-tariff policy to gain better access to the Chinese market and, by extension, the global market. Fisher Global, a Rwandan agricultural company that began exporting dried chili to China in 2022, is now aiming to turn chili into a major cash crop for rural communities.

“At first, we had only about 15 hectares under chili cultivation, but now we have expanded to 300 hectares,” Herman Uwizeyimana, general manager of Fisher Global, told Xinhua.

According to Uwizeyimana, the company now has 31 permanent employees and up to 600 casual workers, creating much-needed jobs and boosting local incomes.

“Exporting to China has been a great opportunity for us. With the memorandum of understanding between Rwanda and China to export dried chili, it has really opened doors,” he said. “Having access to such a huge and stable market has empowered us to keep improving both the quantity and the size of our planting area.”

Fisher Global’s chili exports to China have grown rapidly — from just one container in 2022 to around 10 containers in 2023. The company now exports some 300 metric tons of dried chili annually and aims to surpass 1,000 metric tons in the coming years.

Profound changes are becoming visible among farmers as their incomes rise from chili cultivation. For 28-year-old farmer Emmanuel Bihoyiki, his income has more than tripled. With his increased earnings, he has been able to purchase land for himself and his parents.

“Chili farming was the first business opportunity I found that has brought significant income, not only to me but also to my fellow villagers, improving our livelihoods,” he said.

In recent years, China has broadened market access for African goods by granting zero-tariff treatment and improving “green channels” for customs clearance, while actively supporting African companies’ participation in major trade events such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the China International Supply Chain Expo.

These measures have helped connect African specialty products with global markets. In 2025, China-Africa trade grew by 17.7 percent year on year to reach 348 billion U.S. dollars, while Africa’s exports to China exceeded 123 billion dollars.

China’s zero-tariff policy “offers an opportunity for market diversification,” said Cobus van Staden, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

The policy is expected to facilitate African exporters’ entry into the Chinese market, he said, adding that it “will help exporters diversify their markets and hopefully gain access to a large group of new customers” and “could help African industrialization.”

FACILITATING AFRICA’S MODERNIZATION

China’s zero-tariff treatment for African countries also builds on 10 partnership actions initiated at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in September 2024. China has consistently acted as a true friend on Africa’s path to modernization.

In Niassa Province, northern Mozambique, a new graphite processing plant built and funded by China’s Jinan Yuxiao Group is expected to deliver an annual output of 200,000 tonnes. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said that the project will help his country shift away from a single development model based on raw material exports and promote higher value-added exports.

Agricultural cooperation between China and Mozambique is deepening. In Gaza Province, local farming and farmers have benefited from a partnership with the Wanbao rice farm supported by the China-Africa Development Fund. The yields rise from 1-2 tonnes to 5-7 tonnes per hectare, and land-use efficiency is up by about tenfold.

The Chinese expert team has been instrumental in advancing this cooperation. With their technical support, a dedicated seed laboratory has been set up for seed quality evaluation.

“When seed quality improves, output naturally increases,” said agronomist Germano Manuel of the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique, expecting to see a nationwide use of related technologies to lift the country’s overall agricultural capacity.

Mozambique boasts vast land resources and holds immense potential for agricultural cooperation with China. It is willing to find more agro products beyond rice for cooperation, and seek more projects like the Wanbao farm, Chapo told Xinhua in an interview ahead of his state visit to China on April 16-22.

Mozambique will capitalize on China’s zero-tariff treatment to push the export of its agro products in particular, he said.

Chapo said that he hopes to strengthen strategic cooperation with China in agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, industrialization, and digitalization within the framework of South-South cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative.

CLOSER SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

Against the backdrop of rising global trade protectionism, China’s initiative to work together to build an open and inclusive world economy has won widespread support.

“What we need is to remove barriers rather than erect walls, (and) open up rather than close off. We should carry out extensive consultation and make joint contributions for shared benefit, reject the winner-takes-all approach, and build an open world economy where developing countries are better involved in the international division of labor and share the fruits of economic globalization,” Xi said in August 2023 at the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Chinese president called on China and Africa to “work together to create a sound environment for realizing our respective development visions.”

The zero-tariff treatment for Africa reaffirms China’s commitment to building an open world economy, promoting shared development across the Global South through practical cooperation, and injecting stability into the global trading system and economic growth.

During the 39th African Union Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres applauded the Chinese move, calling for similar measures by developed countries. “We have witnessed multiple occasions of tariffs in recent times,” he noted.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that China’s “very timely” zero-tariff treatment is particularly vital as Africa bears the brunt of global uncertainties, which impact the African economies with structural vulnerabilities the hardest.

“We also see isolationist policies across the world, while protectionism is growing,” he added.

“The system of global economic governance that has been with us for about eight decades is coming under significant strain,” said Melaku Geboye, coordinator of the African Trade Policy Center at the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

At such a critical time, he said, China’s continued commitment to openness is both “timely and significant” for Africa, in addition to the “enduring and growing importance of the China-Africa partnership and its promise for mutually beneficial development and ensured prosperity.”

For Fisher Global and many other African companies, the Chinese market has become central to their future growth plans. At exhibitions in Shanghai and Changsha, the company’s chili products highlighted Rwanda’s organic, pesticide-free produce and aroused strong interest from Chinese buyers looking to source overseas.

“China is the number one market in the world for chili, so it is very important to us,” Uwizeyimana said. “We are hopeful for stronger and higher exports to China.”

China’s initiative marks a structural shift in bilateral ties and will further strengthen South-South cooperation, said Afonso Gomes, a Guinea-Bissau economic analyst.

“China realized very early that the future of the world economy requires multilateralism. The decision … confirms its strong medium- and long-term strategic vision,” said Gomes.  ■

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Trade across thousands of miles has never been just about tonnage; it is where taste meets life.

BITTER: THE DAILY GRIND

Ethiopia is the cradle of Arabica. Legend dictates that a millennium ago, a shepherd on the southwestern Kaffa plateau stumbled upon the energizing properties of the coffee shrub. The land has yielded the bean ever since.

Today, Ethiopia churns out 600,000 tonnes of coffee a year. For some 25 million people — roughly a fifth of the population — it is the bedrock of their livelihood and the country’s premier export.

Yet for farmers like Tesfaye Gabru, who came of age on these highlands, the economics of coffee have long been decidedly bitter. He has watched generations of growers lug meticulously tended beans down mountain trails, queue at local purchasing stations, and walk away with prices that bore little relation to the effort they had put in.

Vagaries in global commodity markets, capricious weather, and a dearth of domestic processing capacity meant that premium beans rarely fetched premium prices. That injustice — endured season after season, year after year — is the bitterness that sits behind the flavor.

China’s increasingly voracious appetite for coffee offers a reprieve. As orders swell, Gabru’s AWO Coffee Company has pivoted; virtually its entire export volume is now destined for China.

Steady demand allows the firm to offer smallholders better margins and expand its harvest-season payroll. The zero-tariff policy has emboldened Gabru further, providing the financial runway to build his own roasting facility on the outskirts of Addis Ababa — something he now has the confidence to do for the first time.

Chinese firms are venturing directly to the source. Changsha Saturnbird Coffee recently inked a strategic pact with the Ethiopian side, forging a direct sea-rail logistics corridor stretching from the African highlands to the heart of Hunan Province.

Wang Ling, the firm’s general manager, says Ethiopian beans are a hit with Chinese consumers, and plans to scale up direct procurement to “benefit both grower and drinker.” For the farmers who have spent years queuing for a pittance, that is more than a corporate pledge — it is years of quiet hardship slowly coalescing into a tangible return.

SPICY: A BURNING AMBITION

Herman Uvizeyimana spent years studying in China, where he saw firsthand how Chinese goods — affordable and well-made — found eager buyers the world over. When he returned to Rwanda in 2018, he went into trade between the two countries.

But the doctorate-holder from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had a deeper ambition. Bringing Chinese goods in was not enough. He wanted to send Rwandan products the other way — to earn hard currency for his country and put real income in the hands of Rwandan farmers.

Workers work at the agricultural factory Fisher Global in the Rwamagana Industrial Park, Eastern Province, Rwanda, April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Ju Yinhe)

In 2021, he heard that Rwandan dried chillies had secured access to the Chinese market. He saw an opening: Rwandan dried chilli packs a punch four times hotter than standard varieties, and China has one of the world’s most devoted communities of spice lovers.

But chilli was a niche crop in Rwanda, and local farmers were skeptical. Uvizeyimana led from the front — going into the fields himself, learning from scratch how to select land, propagate seedlings, and dry the harvest. The first year was bruising. Uneven quality meant only a single container made it out the door. “It was a serious blow,” he said.

He did not give up. He taught farmers the basics of cultivation and pest control, went door to door to collect fresh chillies, and stood over the drying and processing at the factory to keep quality consistent. Trust, slowly, was earned. In the second year, exports jumped to 10 containers. “Our confidence was built up little by little.”

Today, Uvizeyimana’s Fischer Global ships 200 to 300 tonnes of dried chilli to China each year, with planted area now at 300 hectares. What his years in China gave him was more than knowledge and technique — it was the courage to spot an opportunity and the will to bring others along for the journey. Spicy is not merely a sensation; it is the drive to set out, and to lead the way.

ACIDITY: THE VINTAGE ADVANTAGE

The harvest may have concluded, but the bottling lines at Diemersdal Wine Estate in Cape Town hum relentlessly. Much of this liquid cargo is bound for China.

“South Africa’s viticultural roots date back to 1659, making us the oldest of the New World producing regions,” said Steffi Layer, the estate’s international sales manager, with evident pride.

Oak barrels are seen at the production facility of Diemersdal Wine Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa, on March 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Lei)

Cultivated on ancient granite soils under a Mediterranean sky, South African wines are celebrated for their bold yet refined character — warming fruitiness wrapped in minerality, with a bright and unapologetic acidity. It is precisely this “tartness,” shaped over centuries by soil and sun, that gives the Cape’s vintages their distinct voice in a crowded global cellar.

Despite a 17-year presence in the Chinese market and a growing appetite for wine among China’s middle class, South African labels have struggled to close the gap with their European rivals. Tariffs and steep shipping costs have been a persistent drag.

Layer sees the zero-tariff policy as a turning point. Remove the levies, she argues, and the gains will ripple across the entire supply chain — shippers, importers, and vineyards alike. “I’m confident South African wine will find a much warmer welcome on Chinese shelves.”

SWEET: FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR

In Benin, the pineapple of choice is the “Sugarloaf” — celebrated across Africa for its intense sweetness and negligible acidity. This unassuming fruit is an economic pillar for the West African nation, with annual production of around 450,000 tonnes generating 1.2 percent of GDP and sustaining tens of thousands of farming families.

Paradoxically, growers like Tchegbenangnon Lanmandoclevo once dreaded a bumper crop. Abundance brought not joy but anguish: mountains of pineapples rotting in local markets too small to absorb the glut. “Without the Chinese export market, it would be impossible to sell this volume,” he said.

Farmers pack freshly harvested pineapples in the commune of Ze, a major pineapple producing area in southern Benin, March 16, 2026. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)

Beninese pineapples clinched Chinese market access in 2023, stealing the show at the China International Import Expo and securing tens of millions of dollars in orders. Today, the 55-year-old Lanmandoclevo has tripled his plantation to nearly three hectares.

The zero-tariff policy promises to sweeten the deal further. At a recent export launch ceremony in the agricultural hub of Allada, Gaston Dossouhoui, Benin’s minister of agriculture, hailed the policy as a catalyst for rural modernization, job creation, and improved livelihoods.

The sweetness on a diner’s tongue is a farmer’s livelihood. Every Sugarloaf carries, within it, a family’s rekindled hope.

Taste, it turns out, is the one language that needs no translation. An old African philosophy holds: “I am because we are.” As China’s vast consumer market becomes a vast opportunity for Africa, the continent’s flavors — finding their way into Chinese cups and onto Chinese plates — are the most everyday and honest proof of a shared destiny across mountains and seas.

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