We are eager to deepen economic ties with China

TANZANIA, Egypt and Ethiopia are major players in the China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation, but only Egypt is on the One Belt and One Road" (B&R) initiative. We are impressed by the in-depth and broad economic cooperation between China and Africa.

 The three countries each have more than 20,000 Chinese workers engaged in areas including manufacturing, services, medicine, planting and mining, as well as in areas of infrastructure such as railways, highways, bridges, airports, ports, factories, telecommunication networks, housing and municipal facilities. 

There are quite a number of Chinese State-owned and private enterprises operating in Africa, which has become one of the fastest-growing markets for many private enterprises and even the key overseas investment destination for some Chinese firms. For instance, Huawei Technologies Co now holds the leading market share in Africa, having overtaken its Western rivals.

In-depth China-Africa economic cooperation is also seen in many other African countries. From an economic point of view, China has much closer ties with African countries than with many Asian countries along the B&R route.

The importance of bilateral relations cannot be over-emphasised. China attaches great importance to relations with Africa. Chinese foreign ministers have visited Africa during their first foreign trips each year over the past two decades, which is a unique tradition among big countries. Meanwhile, African countries also pay great attention to relations with China. 

Tanzania is eager to deepen its economic cooperation with China, and President John Magufuli has called for China's participation in the construction of Tanzania's central railway line linking its major cities. One of the priorities of Egypt's policy of "turning to the East" is to strengthen economic cooperation with China. At present, all these countries are concerned about whether the B&R includes them and what their roles in it will be.

 Considering China's comparative advantages, Africa's market size, resources, desire for development and the relatively stable political situation in most African countries, there is still great potential for China-Africa cooperation. However, there are challenges. 

We need investment in a wide range of areas, but we generally lack the ability to pay. We are also eager to enhance economic cooperation with China and to reduce their trade deficit, but we don't have many products for exports. Moreover, there is disagreement between areas or projects some African countries hope to prioritise and those in which China is willing to participate. 

For instance, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway is an electrified railway line, but the supporting dam and power supply facilities were not completed on time. While China is paying a lot of attention to the revamping of the Tanzania Zambia Railway (TAZARA), the Tanzanian government cares more about the central railway line and has become dissatisfied with China's inactive participation in the project.

In short, African countries hope to promote our own development with the help of China. China attaches importance to Africa's market, population, resources and good political relations, which may have more development potential compared with some countries along the B&R route. Since the B&R mainly focuses on the Eurasian regions, especially China's neighbouring countries, China needs a more specific "Africa strategy" to balance the situation.