Africa-Press – Tanzania. CHINA will continue being a major source of investment and market for Tanzania.
Developing nations have always been at the centre of China’s diplomatic efforts from the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The control of Covid-19 infection in Africa will depend on immunisation. Cooperation with African countries, which started with the support to Africa’s liberation struggles, has evolved over the years to meet current economic needs of the two parties.
As the second largest economy in the world, China not only has made tremendous progress in economic development, but also in high tech like 5G network technology, new energy, digital economy and in medicine where it is now one of the few countries able to produce Covid-19 vaccines.
These areas not only offer new platforms for cooperation, but also help push Africa’s economic development during pandemic times.
In economic circles, there is a saying goes China is like the sea from which anyone can draw water from. The amount of water that each can fetch depends on two factors, first, the size of the container, and second, the strength to carry that container.
This fact is increasingly becoming evident, as China’s economy continues growing and expanding, which is supported by its reform policy of opening doors. This is good news not only for Tanzania, but also for Africa as a whole.
How is this good news for Tanzania? Looking at one aspect of the outcome of China’s reform policy, one will see that domestic consumption is now a major engine for China’s economic growth and not exports, like it has been for the past 40 years.
Currently, domestic consumption contributes about 60 per cent of China’s GDP. Some of what is literally consumed include food products, which Tanzania can produce in large quantities.
Tanzania is among the few third world countries of which more than 97 per cent of their agricultural products enjoy tariff free access to the Chinese market.
Basically, this means almost all food crops produced in Tanzania can be sold to the Chinese market. With a booming middle class that enjoys tropical coffee, tea, fruits, this is good news for local farmers and businesspeople.
The Embassy of Tanzania in China has been working tirelessly to hold talks with Chinese authorities to find ways of seeing more Tanzanian products gain market access.
Despite the fact that 97 per cent of our agricultural products can enter the Chinese market tariff free, this does not mean it is automatic.
There are customs and quarantine procedures that must be followed before Tanzanian products are allowed to enter the Chinese market.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that China is the main source of direct investments (FDIs). In 10 years from 2008 to 2018, the total value of direct investments from China was more than $177.5m.
According to 2019 figures, there were more than 700 Chinese companies registered by Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).
These companies not only create fairly well-paying jobs, but also pay taxes, assist in boosting our export to other countries, and provide skills to Tanzanians.
China has surpassed major investors in Tanzania, namely the United Kingdom, South Africa and Kenya.
There are examples of such investments, such as Chinese Agricultural Investment in Morogoro sisal plantations, which has been dormant and is now back up and running and Tooku Textile Factory located in the Benjamin Mkapa Export Processing Zone is also now exporting their products overseas.
China has also been a major player in the implementation of bilateral projects that help improve the lives of Tanzanians.
In addition to road projects that improve transport through and within towns and cities and many buildings changing their skylines, there are other notable infrastructure projects.
Kinyerezi III and Kinyerezi IV power projects have greatly helped to reduce blackouts in Dar es Salaam and there is a similar project which illuminates the streets of Stone Town in Zanzibar with solar energy.
Apart from the benefits of bilateral relations between China and Tanzania, there are other platforms of cooperation that can benefit Tanzania in infrastructure and industrial sectors.
The implementation of cooperation projects agreed during the Beijing Summit on Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) and through the “Belt and Road” initiative.
As Tanzania implements the industrial development policy, these two platforms are ideal for Tanzania’s developmental efforts.
