Tanzania and China: Trustworthy friends and sincere partners forever

In 1968 Tanzanian’s Founding Father of the nation and first Presidents Julius Nyerere was received by  Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on his visit to Beijing.  

From the outset of bilateral relations, China has assisted Tanzania with a variety of economic aid programmes. The most notable early aid project was the TAZARA Railway built from 1970 to 1975 with Chinese funding, labor and technical assistance.[1] The 1,860 km railway connects landlocked Zambia with Dar es Salaam. The Chinese government sent as many as 56,000 workers, and has continued to aid the railway in the decades since.

From 2000 to 2011, there are approximately 62 Chinese official development finance projects identified in Tanzania through various media reports.  These projects range from the Chinese government's efforts to launch the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank,  to a loan of $400 million to help alleviate the Kiwira coal mine's financial problems,  and the construction of the Benjamin Mkapa Olympic Stadium, namely the National Stadium now Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

In 2013, the friendly and cooperative relations between the People's Republic of China and the United Republic of Tanzania further developed, and their cooperation in various fields yielded new fruits.

The two countries had close high-level exchanges and deepened their political mutual trust. In March, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete sent a congratulatory message to Xi Jinping on his election as the Chinese president. In April,  former President Kikwete sent a message of condolences to President Xi for the earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan Province.

On 24-25 March, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Tanzania. During the visit, he had talks with President Kikwete and met respectively with President of Zanzibar Ali Mohamed Shein and former Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa. The two countries agreed to build and grow a comprehensive partnership of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. They issued a Joint communique between the government of the People's Republic of China and the government of the United Republic of Tanzania, and signed 15 cooperation documents that cover trade, financial investment, infrastructure and culture. President Xi delivered a speech entitled "Trustworthy Friends and Sincere Partners Forever" at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Center, in which he elaborated on the principles of sincerity, real-results, affinity and good-faith which guide China's policies toward Africa.

The two countries maintained close party-to-party and military-to military interactions.  

Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries delivered notable results. China became Tanzania's biggest trading partner and second biggest source of foreign investment. The two sides signed an agreement on investment promotion and mutual protection. Construction of the Mtwara to Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline started. Equipment began to be installed at the Tanzania modern agriculture demonstration park. The Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre, which was built with Chinese assistance, was handed over to the Tanzanian side. The solar power project was completed. And the office building project of the Tanzanian Foreign Ministry progressed smoothly.

The two countries conducted vigorous cooperation in people-to-people exchange. Encouraging progress was made in the China Cultural Centre project. Two more Confucius Institutes were opened in the University of Dodoma and the University of Dar es Salaam. The second batch of Chinese TV operas in the Swahili language were on air in Tanzania. Delegations from the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and the Chinese-African People's Friendship Association visited Tanzania. The Tanzanian culture minister attended the first Roundtable meeting for Sino-Africa Cultural Industries in China. An exhibition on China's higher education was held in Tanzania.

In the same background Chinese President Xi Jinping this week sent a message of condolences to new Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan over the passing of the country's President John Magufuli.

In his message, on behalf of the Chinese government and people as well as in his own name, Xi expressed deep condolences, and extended sincere sympathies to the Tanzanian government and people as well as President Magufuli's relatives.

Calling him an outstanding leader of Tanzania, Xi said that President Magufuli had made positive contributions to promoting friendly cooperation between China and Tanzania and between China and Africa during his lifetime.

Magufuli's death is a huge loss to the Tanzanian people, and the Chinese people have also lost a good friend, Xi said.

Noting that China cherishes the profound traditional friendship between China and Tanzania, Xi said that China is willing to work with the Tanzanian side to deepen their comprehensive cooperative partnership, so as to bring more benefits to both countries and their peoples.