China and Tanzania have enjoyed a long-lasting friendship and comprehensive co-operation, and the development of the relations is being promoted at a higher level with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan's arrival in Beijing for a three-day visit.
The two countries on Thursday announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with Hassan, the first African head of state China received after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
A 'true and reliable' China-Tanzania friendship
Noting that the two countries should take the comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership as a guide to advance co-operation in various fields in the next stage, Xi said China would continue to import more Tanzanian products, support Chinese companies in investing and doing business in Tanzania and provide assistance for Tanzania's economic and social development.
He said China has always viewed its relations with Tanzania from a strategic perspective and has always been a reliable friend.
The bilateral trade between China and Tanzania has developed rapidly. The trade volume reached $6.74 billion (R123bn), up 47.15% year on year. Among them, Tanzania's exports to China amounted to $606m, up 47.3% year on year.
The growth rate was faster than the average level in Africa, according to Chinese statistics.
Hassan said Tanzania regarded China as a "true and most important friend" and was willing to be a trusted partner of China forever.
She said Tanzania would continue to firmly support China on issues concerning China's core interests, such as the issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral co-operation documents on trade, investment, development co-operation, digital economy and green development.
The two sides also issued a joint statement on establishing a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership, covering issues such as leveraging the guiding political role of head-of-state diplomacy, elevating two-way trade, and strengthening co-ordination and co-operation in international affairs, among others.
Building a China-Africa community with a shared future
In 2013, during his visit to Tanzania, Xi put forth the guiding principles of China's policy toward Africa, namely sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith. This has since become China's basic policy on pursuing solidarity and co-operation with other developing countries.
Xi told Hassan that under the new circumstances, the sound development of China-Tanzania relations not only served the common and long-term interests of the two countries, but was also of great significance to building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
China is ready to create new opportunities for Africa with its new development, take infrastructure as the guide, strengthen co-operation in trade, investment and financing, and foster new drivers of China-Africa co-operation, he said.
Hassan said her country would join China in taking the establishment of a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership as an opportunity to strengthen practical co-operation in various fields and build bilateral relations into a model of Africa-China relations in the new era.
Highlighting the role of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) in promoting the development of African countries, she said Tanzania would continue to actively participate in and support the development of FOCAC.
FOCAC is an effective platform and multilateral mechanism for China and African countries to conduct collective consultations and carry out pragmatic co-operation.
Since the establishment of FOCAC, Chinese enterprises have built more than 10 000km of railways, nearly 100 000km of roads, nearly 1 000 bridges, nearly 100 ports and a large number of hospitals and schools in Africa, said Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian during a conference on China-Africa co-operation through FOCAC in Tanzania's Dar es Salaam in October.
In 2021, China-Africa trade volume was $254.2 billion, and China's stock of direct investment in Africa exceeded $56bn, 25 times and 100 times that of 2000, when the forum was established, respectively, according to the Chinese envoy.
*This article was originally published by CGTN.