While global attention fixates on the Strait of Hormuz crisis, China has executed a significant trade maneuver. Beijing announced zero tariffs on products from all 53 African countries maintaining diplomatic ties with it. This bold policy removes trade barriers, aiming to boost African exports and deepen economic integration with the continent. Analysts see it as a calculated long-game strategy by China to expand influence and secure resources while Western powers are distracted by Middle East conflicts. The move could reshape global supply chains and strengthen Beijing’s foothold in Africa for decades.
Turkey to open embassy in Syria tomorrow
Turkey will open an embassy in Syria shortly, after years of no diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Turkey's foreign minister said the embassy, in Damascus, would open tomorrow.
Relations between the countries were severed in March 2012, due to the Syrian civil war, with Turkey staunchly opposed to Bashar al Assad's regime.
In the intervening years, the country has taken in millions of Syrian refugees that were forced to flee.