Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said that the zero-tariff policy with China will further boost trade between the two countries, as Ghana seeks to sync up on product standards to increase exports to China.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG) aired Friday, the president hailed the economic and trade cooperation with China. Ghana is among the first sub-Saharan countries to establish diplomatic relations with China and remains an important strategic partner of China in Africa.
In 2024, the trade volume between Ghana and China reached 11.8 billion U.S. dollars, with an annual growth rate exceeding 7 percent, and this growth momentum has continued into 2025.
"Actually, China is Ghana's biggest trading partner, and trade between Ghana and China has continued to grow exponentially. The zero-tariff policy is now kicking in and so I believe that it will create a conducive atmosphere for us to grow that trade even more," he said.
To achieve truly sustainable growth, China and Ghana are working together to address practical challenges and align their economic strategies, moving from trade in raw materials to a more value-added collaboration, the president noted.
"We're looking on the Ghanaian side for Chinese industries to come and help us add value to the products that we have, so that we can export back into the Chinese market. Apart from that, there's the important issue of harmonization of standards. China has about 40 standards and so we need to harmonize our standards with the Chinese standards so that it makes it easier for us to export into the Chinese market. So those are the areas that are ironing out and I think that we can reach an understanding as long as the relationship between us is what it is," said the president.
Zero-tariff policy to boost Ghana-China trade: Ghanaian president
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has hailed the growing educational and cultural exchanges his country is enjoying with China, highlighting the role of Confucius Institutes and Chinese-funded infrastructure in building a stronger skilled workforce.
Mahama was speaking in an exclusive interview with the China Media Group (CMG) which aired on Friday. The Ghanaian President visited Beijing back in October to attend the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women, and also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, with both leaders stressing the long history of friendship between the two nations.
In the CMG interview, Mahama said that the three Confucius Institutes established in the cities of Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast are helping to cement exchanges and open up new opportunities for young people, noting that the enthusiasm for learning Chinese is rapidly spreading across Ghana, reflecting a broader cultural and educational engagement between the two sides.
"[When students return from training programs in China,] they come back with the skills that they acquired in China. And there's a good colony of Chinese speakers. And so it's interesting, when Chinese companies come in and establish industries, sometimes they don't need to bring Chinese people to Ghana, they find a pool of Ghanaians who are qualified and can speak Chinese. So it makes it very easy for them to employ them and be able to carry out their work," Mahama said.
He also drew attention to China's contribution to Ghana's higher education sector, singling out the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in the Volta Region, which is helping nurture a new generation of medical professionals.
"The campus of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, that's training a lot of doctors, paramedics and other specialists. [It] was funded by China and that is one of our public universities that has a good reputation and is performing very well. And that was based on friendship," Mahama said.
Ghanaian president hails deepening cultural, educational exchanges with China
