China will reduce tariffs on more than 850 imported goods, including frozen pork and frozen avocado, from January 1, 2020, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Chinese Treasury. From 1 July 2020, duties on certain IT products will be further reduced.

A statement from the Customs and Tax Policy Committee of the PRC, quoted by TASS, stated that such measures were being taken to meet the growing demand from Chinese consumers for foreign production.

According to figures published on the Treasury's website, duties on a number of food, chemical and petroleum products, including kerosene (from 9% to 0%) and diesel (from 6% to 1%), clothing and carpets (will be reduced from 6 to 5%), industrial, television and specialized equipment, optical instruments, some types of tractors and generators, will be reduced.

Tariffs on some asthma and diabetes medications are due to drop to zero, in a bid to lower medication costs and stimulate the production of new drugs, the ministry said in a statement.

Import duties on multi-component semiconductors will also be cut to zero. Several wood and paper products will also see a reduction, DW reported.

Next year, the Chinese authorities will further reduce customs duties on goods from 23 countries that have reached agreements on the elimination of mutual trade restrictions. These include Australia, Georgia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland and Chile, as well as countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the finance ministry said.