China proves to be reliable friend

Tanzania is an exemplar of a relationship built on solid foundations and with a bright future

In 2001, the British magazine The Economist dubbed Africa a "desperate continent", but in 2011 it changed that to "rising continent". In the intervening years, the China-Africa relationship boomed under the growing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

At the end of last year, trade between two sides was worth $221.9 billion and China's investment in Africa was worth $30 billion, increased by respectively a 20-fold and 60-fold increase, compared with figures of 2000. China's growth and bond with Africa has become a significant impetus to the continent's future development and its renaissance.

As Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Kamillius Membe said in a recent seminar: "When Africa needed help the most, it was not Americans nor Europeans, but Chinese to come to offer us a hand. You think they wouldn't go to Somalia because of hunger and drought, but they are there; you think they wouldn't go to the Democratic Republic of Congo due to ongoing civil war, but they arrived and stayed; you think they wouldn't go to Mozambique because it's flooding and people are all displaced, they also went there; you think they wouldn't come to Tanzania because malaria is assaulting people's lives, but still they are here." As a vivid example, China-Tanzania collaboration reflects the solid foundation, booming development and bright future of the China-Africa relationship.

The relationship between China and Tanzania was established by former leaders, enjoying a long history and sound foundation. The two countries have had close collaboration and strong support of each other in the fight of national liberation, country development, safeguarding world peace, as well as protecting the interests of developing countries in the international arena. It has become a model of mutual trust and support among developing nations.

In the 1970s, China went through difficult times but still helped the region build the Tazara Railway, a milestone known as the "freedom railway" and "friendship railway". It is highly praised by the Tanzanian government and its people.

To accomplish this project, the Chinese government sent nearly a million tons of equipment and materials, as well as 50,000 technicians, of whom 64 sacrificed their lives on the job. The railway became an artery of southeastern Africa, effectively enhancing the economic development of Tanzania and Zambia, as well as encouraging exchanges between rural and urban areas.

Moreover, many new towns and villages were created along the road, making the railway a road of development. Former president Julius Kambarage Nyerere praised Tazara as a "great contribution to African people" and said, "In history, foreigners always built railways to grab Africa's wealth, but the Chinese are building a railway for the continent's economic development."

In addition, many projects that were desperately needed for Tanzania's economic development were established, including Friendship Textile Co Ltd and Mubarari farm. They filled the industrial blank and laid the foundation of its national economic system.

In this new millennium, the China-Tanzania relationship has moved to a higher level, and all the measures made by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation have been well planted and developed. After the mutual state visits of President Xi Jinping and President Jakaya Kikwete, this bilateral relationship was lifted to a mutually beneficial all-round collaboration partnership, becoming a friendly model of sharing weal and woe, a collaborative model of mutual benefit and common development, a developmental model of joint progress, as well as a collaborative model of enhancing world peace and maintaining common interests.

In 2010, trade between the two countries was worth $1.65 billion and investment was worth $700 million. Last year those figures increased to $4.3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, China also provided more than $2 billion in concessional loans to many major infrastructure projects that were urgently needed for development and projects related to improving people's lives. China has become Tanzania's biggest trade partner and second-largest investment country. Its investment and trade have entered every field of Tanzanian development and daily life, receiving compliments from the Tanzanian government and its people.

In this partnership, China has stuck to the principles of being "genuine, practical, friendly, frank" raised by President Xi in a speech given at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center. It insists on correct values in morals and profits, and takes Tanzania's urgent need for development as its prioritized collaboration direction. Tanzania still lacks development experience and skill, so it hopes to learn from China's development and reform. China has shared its own development experience with Tanzania unreservedly and cooperated with Tanzania on development planning, poverty reduction and food security, effectively increasing its capability in social economic management.

Agriculture is an economic pillar of Tanzania, so China has helped with its agricultural development programs and rural development, which has been praised by Foreign Minister Bernard Membe. He says China is dedicated to improving living condition in rural areas and also teaching Tanzanians to invest in electricity generation in those areas to further process agricultural products. He also says this has not only increased jobs, but also added value to their products, which increased prices 10 fold. This is what a Tanzanian dream needs.

Resources and transport infrastructure in the country is underdeveloped, which has raised serious barriers to the country's development. So China has played a crucial role in major infrastructure construction, which later after being accomplished will become the foundation of Tanzania's economic development.

This partnership has not only changed Tanzania's development, more importantly it has benefited millions of Tanzanians. The number of Tanzanian staff working in Chinese companies now exceeds 150,000, and more than 350,000 Tanzanians are doing trade-related business with China. Many local staff see Chinese companies as their home and have been dedicated to their work for 10, 20 and even 30 years.

Some have achieved business success through knowledge learned in Chinese companies. For instance, an employee at Huawei Tanzania with a good work ethic was given high recognition and specific training. Now he is an owner of his own business. Another young man in Dar es Salaam learned Chinese when he was opening the market for a Chinese businessman, and the language opened a new world for him. He now owns a vegetable and fruit farm, giving his family a decent life.

These vivid examples are touching Tanzanians and laying the foundation of a good relationship between two peoples. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Afrobarometer titled Tanzanian's Attitudes Towards China showed that China has become the most welcomed and recognized country, and the image and influence of China in Tanzania has exceeded that of any other country or international organization.

Looking to the future, we may find a wider space for collaboration between the two countries. Tanzania has a stable social and political environment and its natural resources and labor resources are abundant. During the administration of President Kikwete, its economic growth and comprehensive development have been steady. The country is now equipped with the basic conditions for industrialization.

As a good friend of Tanzania and a world industrial giant, China wants to offer any possible help with the country's industrialization, to further transform the current relationship from trade oriented to investment oriented. Along with the booming collaboration in various industries, China's investment in this country has welcomed a new wave of growth. Increasingly, more Chinese investment will focus on harbors, railways, highways, and aviation, as well as processing industries like light industry, textiles, steel, construction materials, resources, telecommunications and deep processing of agricultural products. It aims to create more jobs for locals and more taxes for local government. More Tanzanians will feel the fruits of the China-Tanzanian partnership.

The author is China's ambassador to Tanzania.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/26/2015 page10)