BEIJING, Sept. 6, 2024 -- The 1,860-km-long Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway from Tanzania's Dar es Salaam to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia serves as a reminder of the longstanding relationship between China and Tanzania.
Over its 48 years of operation, the railway has transported over 30 million tonnes of cargo and carried more than 40 million passengers, becoming a vital artery that ensures the economic operation and development of Tanzania, Zambia, and surrounding areas.
On Wednesday, leaders of the three countries jointly witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the revitalization project of the TAZARA railway, aiming to further improve the rail-sea intermodal transport network in East Africa.
In the new era, China has continued to bring new opportunities to African countries and remained committed to the overall direction of mutual trust, mutual benefit, mutual learning and mutual assistance in growing China-Africa relations.
Delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed that China and Africa are getting stronger and more resilient together, delivering tangible benefits to Chinese and Africans, and setting a stellar example of a new type of international relations.
Xi announced that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China are elevated to the level of strategic relations and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations is elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Flourishing China-Africa cooperation
Since its establishment in 2000, the FOCAC has continuously promoted the leap-forward development of China-Africa relations, setting a prime example for South-South cooperation and international cooperation with Africa.
Over the past 24 years, China-Africa practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, and exchanges in various fields have been unprecedentedly active.
China-Africa trade volume has increased from $10.5 billion in 2000 to $282.1 billion in 2023, an increase of nearly 26 times. As of the end of 2023, China's direct investment stock in Africa had exceeded $40 billion.
Meanwhile, the two sides have cooperated to build and upgrade nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly a thousand bridges and a hundred ports. Fifty-two African countries and the African Union Commission signed documents with China on the Belt and Road cooperation.
With the help of China, the building of several roads, bridges, and ports has promoted connectivity on the African continent. For instance, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has significantly reduced transportation costs and travel times, fostering trade and commerce. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway connects landlocked Ethiopia to the port of Djibouti, enabling greater access to international markets.
In a bid to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead the Global South modernization, Xi said China stands ready to work with Africa to implement ten partnership action plans in the next three years, covering the areas of mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihood, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, green development, and common security.
China will expand market access for African agricultural products, push forward the pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and carry out 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, he said.
He added that China will send 2,000 medical personnel to Africa, launch 20 programs on health facilities and malaria treatment, and send 500 agricultural experts to strengthen health and agricultural capacities in African countries.
A shared path toward modernization
In the new era, China and Africa are committed to building a closer community with a shared future and becoming fellow travelers in exploring the path to modernization.
China has assisted Africa in solving development problems such as lagging infrastructure, food shortages, and talent shortages while entering Africa has also brought opportunities for Chinese companies to expand their overseas markets.
For instance, in Tanzania's coastal region, Chinese-invested Sapphire Float Glass Factory both serves the local market and exports float glass to six other African nations. Inaugurated in September 2023, the project was expected to generate up to 1,650 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs upon reaching full production capacity. The factory has created 1,012 direct jobs for residents and 3,857 indirect jobs.
In the field of agriculture, China has established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa over the past decade and introduced more than 300 advanced agricultural technologies, increasing local crop yields by an average of 30 to 60 percent and benefiting over a million farmers across the continent.
Currently, over 200 Chinese enterprises are continuing investments in Africa's agricultural sector, with a cumulative investment stock exceeding $1 billion. These investments span various areas, including agricultural supplies and machinery, farming, processing and sales.
"On the path to modernization, no one, and no country, should be left behind," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the 2024 FOCAC summit, calling for jointly advancing modernization that is just and equitable, is open and win-win, puts the people first, features diversity and inclusiveness, is eco-friendly and is underpinned by peace and security.
China and Africa's joint pursuit of modernization will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South and open a new chapter in our drive for a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.
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