Launched on November 5, the sixth edition of the Shanghai International Fair runs until Sunday, November 10, in China. For the occasion, the exhibition area of food and agricultural products of the event was enlarged to allow African countries to present a wide range of their productions. For Tanzania, this show represents above all an opportunity: to strengthen already close ties with Beijing.
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With our special correspondent in Shanghai, Clea Broadhurst
There Tanzania And there China have been partners for a very long time. While the East African country exports agricultural products to the Asian giant, it imports in particular industrial machinery, thanks to several trade agreements concluded with Beijing.
“ China plays an essential role for us in training, also explains Latifa Mohammed Ramiz, the director general of the Tanzanian Trade Development Authority, present at the sixth Shanghai International Fair which ends on November 10. We also have several infrastructure projects, and the principle of zero customs tariffs introduced by the president [chinois] Xi Jinping is very favorable to African countries. That’s why we’re looking to attract investors here. The Chinese want to do business and seize investment opportunities in Tanzania. »
“ The Chinese come to Tanzania because it has a central position in Africa »
While China is Tanzania’s largest trading partner, Beijing has already committed to investing more than a billion dollars to rehabilitate the line. Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara), a strategic railway line 1,860 kilometers long, between the Zambian copper belt and the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
“ The Chinese come to Tanzania to have access to any country on the continent, because we have a central position in Africa, resumes Latifa Mohammed Ramiz. Whether by train, road or plane, from Tanzania you can go to Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and any African country. Our position is therefore very strategic, especially since Tanzania is a politically stable country. »
According to her, relations between Beijing and Dodoma are therefore destined to continue, because China has understood the importance of the African continent in world trade.
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