In December, the first China-Ethiopia Coffee Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference was held in Zhuzhou, Hunan, China, marking a new era of cooperation between the two nations. Photo credits: Ethiopian Embassy Beijing
China’s coffee market is booming, with consumption growing by nearly 150% over the past decade. This has led to increased competition among the largest chains, while also benefiting the specialty sector, which more than doubled in size between 2020 and 2024, making the country increasingly attractive to coffee exporters.
To secure enough supply to meet its growing demand, China is forging closer relationships with many coffee-producing countries, particularly in the wake of tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump in 2025. China removed import tariffs on most African countries in June 2025, thereby facilitating coffee exporters' access to its growing domestic market.
One country taking advantage of the rising demand is Ethiopia, which has worked hard to increase coffee exports to China in recent years. Coffee trade between the two countries has grown significantly; exports increased by 359% between 2018 and 2023, with export values climbing from $15.8 million to $72.5 million.
Exports have continued to grow, increasing 27% annually over the past three years, and China has risen from 33rd to become Ethiopia’s fourth-largest export market during that period. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and its beans are widely regarded as among the best in the world.
It is particularly popular among younger Chinese coffee drinkers. "Young people in China are really fond of Ethiopian coffee,” said Adugna Debela, director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, in 2022, “and we are witnessing growing coffee market share there and in other parts of Asia.”
This popularity has led to further attempts to strengthen economic ties: In December, the city of Zhuzhou in Hunan province hosted the first China-Ethiopia Coffee Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference, where participants, including government officials and business representatives from both countries, discussed trade cooperation and signed partnership agreements.
The event also saw the launch of a dedicated Ethiopian coffee trading center in Zhuzhou. Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, Tefera Derbew Yimam, said the center was part of a wider strategy to “leverage [Ethiopia’s] position as a major coffee producer to expand exports to the Chinese market.”
These developments can be seen in the context of China’s geopolitical “grand strategy” to bolster its influence among so-called developing countries. Policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, which has seen Beijing invest billions in infrastructure projects across Africa, have served the dual purpose of enhancing China’s image across the continent. China has also sought to expand its soft power among coffee-producing countries, especially in light of the US government’s cuts to programs such as USAID.
At the same time, Ethiopian coffee is clearly popular in China, and that popularity goes beyond green coffee exports. In 2018, the Ethiopian brand Garden of Coffee announced plans to open 100 cafes in China. Four years later, in 2022, the e-commerce platform Alibaba hosted a livestream event to promote Ethiopian coffee roasters. A collaboration between the Ethiopian government and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the event saw 11,000 bags of coffee from the Ethiopian roasting company Arada Coffee sell out in five seconds.