Africa is grappling with the impact of steep new US tariffs under President Donald Trump, with several countries facing some of the highest export charges in recent history. But what could spell economic trouble for the continent is fast becoming an opening for China — a long-time economic suitor — to deepen its influence.

“We (Africa) are going straight into the hands of China,” Nigerian economist Bismarck Rewane told CNN, calling it the “unfortunate outcome” of Africa’s inevitable pivot toward Beijing, which has overtaken Washington as its largest bilateral trading partner.

According to a revised tariff package announced by the White House on Thursday, four African countries — Libya, South Africa, Algeria, and Tunisia — face export levies of 25–30%. Another 18 nations have been hit with 15% tariffs. The decision, first unveiled in April, was pitched by Trump as a “reciprocal” measure targeting nations with trade deficits against the US, but critics say the policy is based on selective trade data rather than balanced analysis.

South Africa, slapped with the maximum 30% rate, has challenged the move, arguing that the decision ignores accurate trade figures.

China, seizing the moment, announced in June that it would waive tariffs on imports from almost all African nations. “There is no better time for African countries to strengthen South-South trade than now,” said South African researcher Neo Letswalo, who urged the continent to “make China the next US” as Washington “gradually forfeits its global leadership.”

The US did not negotiate a single trade deal with any African nation before the tariff deadline, despite efforts from the continent to avert the charges — a move Letswalo described as “an open goal for China.”

The economic fallout is already visible. Lesotho, one of Africa’s poorest nations, was initially hit with a crippling 50% tariff before the rate was reduced to 15%. Prime Minister Samuel Matekane said the combination of heavy tariffs and the suspension of US aid has “crippled industries that sustained thousands of jobs.”

The landlocked country — once a beneficiary of a duty-free trade agreement with the US — has declared a two-year national state of disaster, with its textile sector reeling from mass layoffs.

As the US closes its trade doors, Africa’s deepening reliance on China may not just reshape its economic future — it could redefine the continent’s geopolitical alliances for decades to come.