Ghanaian journalist Kwesi Pratt has urged Ghana to take swift, deliberate steps to benefit from China’s growing trade and investment offers, particularly the zero-tariff regime extended to African countries.
He emphasised that while the offer is promising, it demands urgency and strategic preparation on Ghana’s part.
“One of the things … is the zero tariff offer by the Chinese … I think it’s a good initiative … the president says that we have to tie up the loose ends by the end of October. … we then will be able to take advantage of the export market in China and boost our exports,” Pratt noted on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana monitored by MyNewsGh.
He, however, cautioned that the initiative is not exclusive to Ghana and therefore requires quick action to ensure the country positions itself competitively.
Highlighting the persistent trade imbalance, Pratt revealed that “we have increased our exports to China by only 11%.
Within the same period, Chinese exports to Ghana have increased by 45%.”
He warned that this uneven exchange continues to mirror old dependency structures that stifle Ghana’s industrialisation efforts.
According to Pratt, Ghana must rethink what it trades and how it trades.
He pointed to opportunities in mineral exports, especially lithium for electric vehicle production, as well as oil, gas, and value-added manufacturing.
In his words, some of Ghana’s traditional exports may soon lose relevance: “What we used to export to China … China is producing its own cocoa … so we may not in the very short distance be able to send cocoa to China …”
Pratt described China’s model as one that provides space for genuine partnership — but only for nations ready to match its standards.
“It’s not enough to just get zero tariff; you have to match standards, production, infrastructure. The infrastructure orientation and production capacity must align,” he explained.
