Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of the United Republic of Tanzania, will travel to China from November 2 to November 4 at the request of Chinese President Xi Jinping, to hold talks on Agriculture and Infrastructure.
According to Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Thursday, Tanzanian President Hassan will be the first head of state from Africa to visit China following the conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. President Xi will host a welcome ceremony for Hassan, hold bilateral talks with him, and they will both attend a ceremony to sign cooperation agreements.
An important nation in East Africa is Tanzania. According to Mao, China and Tanzania have a longstanding friendship.
“In 2013, during his visit to Tanzania, President Xi put forth the guiding principles of China’s policy toward Africa, namely sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, which have then become China’s basic policy on pursuing solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries. In recent years, the two countries have witnessed deepening political mutual trust and fruitful practical cooperation and have maintained sound cooperation in international and regional affairs,” the spokesperson said.
Following the conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress, China has announced the arrival of various foreign heads of state, including the leader of the Communist Party in Vietnam and the prime minister of Pakistan. Mao further stated that Hassan’s visit to China will give the comprehensive and thorough growth of China-Tanzania relations new energy and lead to new developments in the two countries’ friendship and cooperation.
According to some Chinese experts, the next trip will be crucial to advancing bilateral ties and starting a new chapter in China-Africa relations in the post-COVID era.
Tanzania is curious to learn more about China’s development model as an old friend of China, especially in light of China’s recent economic reform and opening-up.
The two sides are anticipated to see more growth potential in sectors like important infrastructure projects, industrialisation, supply chain, import and export of agricultural products, as well as agricultural processing, according to some experts, outside of some traditional areas like agriculture, in which the two countries have already deepened their cooperation.
Over the past few decades, economic and business interactions between China and Tanzania have increased. According to Tang Xiaoyang, a professor in the Tsinghua University department of international relations, we have established some agricultural demonstration centers in the nation and invested in a variety of industries, including cotton and leather. He made this statement to the Global Times on Thursday.
Most recently, from October 11 to 24, the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania offered an online training program on Juncao technology. According to the embassy’s official Twitter account, Commercial Counselor Chu Kun stated during the course’s ending ceremony that China is eager to continue offering support to help Juncao technology benefit Tanzanians.
As its name implies, juncao, which is roughly translated as “mushroom” and “grass,” can be utilised to grow edible mushrooms, serve as cattle feed, or act as a green barrier to stop desertification.
According to Lin Zhanxi, a representative to the CPC’s 20th National Congress and the creator of the Juncao technology, the technology has been introduced to 106 nations and regions, assisting in the fight against poverty in numerous places like the South Pacific, Africa, and Latin America.
“As Tanzania has also been heavily hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, and its overall industrialisation remaining at a relatively low level, there will be much more potential for the two countries to cooperate in those areas, for example, in helping to boost the agricultural supply chain, processing of agricultural products and increasing some imports to China,” Tang said.
According to a recent report by the Tanzanian news outlet The Citizen, building of the Bagamoyo Port, a crucial infrastructure project that would feature a special economic zone and draw hundreds of businesses, will begin in Tanzania in the upcoming fiscal year. According to certain media accounts, the port will eventually be the biggest in East Africa.
“Negotiations on the port project could be resumed, which could play a more significant role in the future,” Tang said. As negotiations on the project between China and the African country were halted due to certain reasons, the upcoming talks are expected to be advanced in a cautious and gradual way, the expert noted.
