By Abduel Elinaza
THE Sino-Tanzania long relationship is headed for new heights as China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, is set to jet in the country on Thursday for a two-day official visit.
Minister Wang, according to the government Chief Spokesperson, Dr Hassan Abbasi, will be received by President John Magufuli at the new Geita Airport.
The visit, the first for China top brass leader since President Magufuli came to power in 2015, signifies a long relation between Tanzania and China dated back since the 1960's as established by the two nation founding fathers-Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Chairman Mao Zedong.
"Tanzania and China relations remain very different from other African countries. To us, we regard his (Wang) visit as coming to pay homage to a distant brother... it is a brotherhood visit," Dr Abbasi told the 'Daily News' yesterday.
The China-Tanzania relation dates back to 1960s, when China was still a developing country and it was cemented when Dar es Salaam campaigned for Beijing to regain its United Nations Security Council "veto power" and the construction of Tanzania Zambia Railway (Tazara) in early 1970s.
"Tanzania assisted China a lot to learn about Africa and equally significant, Tanzania learned a lot from China, especially in the area of social development via socialism.
"It is well remembered that China also joined Tanzania when it pioneered the liberation struggle for countries in South Africa, through provision of various aids-including arms and housing liberators," Dr Abbasi said.
The government spokesperson said in recent years, the two countries' relations turned to economic and social development. For instance, in the last 30 years, the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from Beijing to Dar reached 7.5billion US dollars for Mainland and 142.9 million US dollars to Zanzibar.
The FDIs translated to almost 950 noticeable investments for both Mainland and Isles.
"This makes China one of the leading investors in Tanzania," Dr Abbasi said.
Data show that the FDIs have created almost 200,000 jobs in Tanzania.
Meanwhile, Tanzania exports a number of agricultural products to China, including soya beans, cassava and fodders. The country also exports cow horns and some fish products.
On average, Dr Abbasi said, Tanzania exports to Beijing agro-products worth 145 million US dollars a year and the figures are rising fast.
The trade imbalance between China and Tanzania is hugely in Beijing's favour but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Tanzania Embassy in China is trying to reduce the gap.
"To address this challenge the ministry through our embassy in China has begun negotiations with the business network company Alibaba, to open up opportunities for Tanzanian products to be sold in the Chinese market through the network," Dr Abbasi said.
Tanzania remains one of the countries that have benefited the most from receiving Chinese aid through the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC).
In the first term of President Magufuli's regime, a total of 11 projects have been implemented through FOCAC.
The projects include construction of the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation in Dar es Salaam, construction of the University of Dar es Salaam Library, construction of two Unguja and Pemba Water Projects; expansion of Abdalla Mzee Hospital in Pemba as well as the construction of doctors' houses.
Other projects include renovation of Mao Tse-Tung Stadium in Unguja, construction and maintenance of the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, rehabilitation of Moshi Police College and construction of Kagera Technical College.
China also has a number of projects present under feasibility study. The projects include construction of Mwalimu Nyerere Agricultural University, University of Transport (NIT) and expansion of Jakaya Kikwete Heart Institute (JKCI) as well as construction of Ngorongoro Geopark.
In the education sector, he said, China increased the number of scholarships to study in China. In 2015-2020, a total of 500 Tanzanians had access to long-term training and 1,029 received short-term training in China.
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