Tanzania promises to develop cooperation with China

Tanzania has promised to develop more cooperation with China if it is to strengthen diplomatic relations that have lasted for more than half a century.

This was stated today Monday April 15, 2024 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba during the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the relationship between China and Tanzania held in Dar es Salaam where they were attended by various leaders of those countries two.

Minister Makamba has said that the founders of the two nations, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Sheikh Abeid Karume, Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and others started and built solidarity which must be developed with all their might.

“The Late Mwalimu Nyerere paved the way when he visited Beijing in February 1965, Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai also came in June of the same year.”

“Even the current leaders, President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania in March 2013 while President Samia Suluhu Hassan visited Beijing in November 2022 since then prosperity in the fields of life has grown including higher education, tourism and culture,” said Makamba.

He said that China has a great history here in the country citing as an example the construction of the Tanzania Zambia (Tazara) railway with a length of 1,868 kilometers.

Even now, Chinese companies and investors have continued to invest in the country in the construction of infrastructure such as roads, industrial corridors and even the National Telecommunications Network and other strategic areas.

He said that President Samia and Xi Jinping linked the relationship with a comprehensive partnership strategy, “basically these countries have created a strategic partnership at the political, economic and social levels.

Speaking at the event, the Chinese Ambassador to the country, Chen Mingjian said that in order to ensure Tanzania’s development is gaining momentum, the country of China has committed itself to invest more in the blue, digital and industrial economy.

Mingjian has said that China enjoys the relationship with Tanzania as it was established by the previous leaders, that is why the people of the Republic of China are leading the investment in this country.

“China remains the largest trading partner of Tanzania for eight years in a row, in 2023 the amount of trade between these two countries reached 8.78 billion US Dollars which is more than Sh22.6 trillion,” Mingjian noted.

Expressing his hope in the next 60 years of cooperation between the two countries, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Policy Center for Africa, Ambassador Omary Mjenga said that diplomacy will increase and he sees the relationship as going beyond this.

“Chinese universities teach Kiswahili and here they teach Chinese, so it will reach a place where we listen well to each other, the result of which is cultural relations, the economy will continue to grow more than here,” said Ambassador Mjenga.

And, the Chairman of the Mwalimu Nyerere Institute, Joseph Butiku said the meaning of diplomacy is to live with mutual understanding, and these countries have understood each other for a long time in various fields.

He has advised that what needs to be done right now is to increase the production of crops that are needed in large quantities in China, which is beneficial for the country’s economy.

“These people want many economic things and the time has come for them to teach our people to cultivate the modern cultivation of avocados that are needed there, so you can see how important this productive partnership is,” said Butiku.