By H.E. ZHAO Yong, Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone
Last month, together with His Excellency Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, I was very pleased to witness the opening of offshore engineering of the China-aided Julius Madda Bio Industrial Fishing Port. Fishery cooperation is an important component of the China-Sierra Leone mutually benefited cooperation. Here I would like to take this opportunity to share with our Sierra Leonean friends the outcomes of fishery cooperation between our two countries.
China and Sierra Leone enjoy a long history of fishery cooperation. Sierra Leone is rich in marine resources, and fishery is an important industry of the country. As early as 1985, China sent its first overseas fishery fleet to Africa, and the first stop was Sierra Leone. Over more than 40 years, the two sides have carried out extensive cooperations such as scientific research, aquaculture and fishing. In 2025, the first batch of Sierra Leonean fishery products has been exported to China, marking Sierra Leone achieved the goal of exporting fishery products to China by 2030 well ahead of its schedule. China’s investment in Sierra Leone’s fishery sector has exceeded 10 million US dollars, which made significant contributions to enriching local supply, creating jobs and promoting development. China has become an important partner in Sierra Leone’s fishery development, and has developed deep feelings for this part of the ocean.
This Fishing Port which is named after H.E. President, Julius Madda Bio Industrial Fishing Port is another milestone project of China-Sierra Leone practical cooperation. It is an important action of China to help Sierra Leone address the lack of a comprehensive fishing hub and accelerate modernization of fishery industry. The project was fully launched at the end of 2025. The offshore engineering that started in last April is the main part of the project. After completion, the Fishing Port will be able to accommodate 3,000-tons large vessels and 9 different types of vessel combinations, with an annual turnover capacity of over 20,000 tons. It will provide one-stop services for Sierra Leone’s fishery production and open up new investment opportunities for fishery product processing and shipbuilding.
The Fishing Port is one of a series of projects that are conducted between China and Sierra Leone. Besides this, projects like Light Salone solar street light and agriculture technology demonstration center are also being carried out smoothly. The cooperation between China and Sierra Leone in the areas of public health, education, and cultural exchanges has been fruitful. All these deeply benefited our two peoples and profoundly demonstrated the contemporary significance of a China-Africa community with a shared future.
The year of 2026 marks the beginning of the implementation of the 15th Five Year Plan of China. As China’s door of opening up gets wider and wider, the path of China-Sierra Leone common development will also become broader and broader. Here I want to specifically mention about China’s “zero-tariff” policy. Starting from May 1st, 2026, China gave zero tariff treatment to products of 53 African countries with which China has diplomatic relations. Sierra Leone, as one of the first batch of African countries to enjoy this policy, has already exported products to China with no tariff since 2024. And as a benefit of this policy, the trade volume between China and Sierra Leone in 2025 increased by 30%, and Sierra Leone’s exports to China has increased by 42%, reaching a record high.
In the future, China will still work hand in hand with Sierra Leone, to promote high-quality implementation of the Fishing Port and other projects, and cement the traditional friendship between our two peoples, so as to write a new and glorious chapter of China-Sierra Leone relationship.
