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　　For many Chinese and Tanzanians， April 26 this year is a day of significance as it marks the 50thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationsbetween the two countries.

　　The most often discussed feature of this relationshipis the Tazara Railway project of the 1960/70s，prompting the question of whether the relationship isonly basking in its past glory.

　　Sun Shangxin， a senior Swahili translator at ForeignLanguages Press affiliated to China International PublishingGroup， often gives a lot of thought to this question.

　　Sun worked at the Tanzania State Farm pastoralproject at Mbarali in the 1970s and was later sent tothe project’s media office in Dar es Salaam office duringthe 1980/90s. Since retiring Sun has remained engagedin Tanzania-related activities， including teachingSwahili at Beijing Foreign Studies University and editingfor the Swahili channel of China Radio International.Now in his seventies， Sun continues to keep up to datewith online news about Tanzania.

　　“In the past 50 years， Tanzanians and Chinesehave always been friends. Relations between the twocountries are on the forefront among all China-Africacooperation， playing a leading and exemplary role. It’s afine example for the cooperation between developingcountries，” Lu Shaye， Director General of the Departmentof African Affairs of the Chinese Ministry ofForeign Affairs， told ChinAfrica.

　　A fine example

　　In the 1970s， the China-financed Tazara Railwaybrought the two countries closer than ever. Withrapid economic growth throughout the followingyears， China undertook a more extensive and intimatecooperation with many African countries. In 2013，China-Africa trade volume exceeded $200 billion， withTanzania ranking 13th among all African countries， at$3.69 billion.

　　The Tazara Railway played a significant role insupporting the national liberation of Southern Africancountries and promoting their economic development.

　　In 2008， the torch of the Beijing Olympics wassuccessfully passed in Dar es Salaam. In March 2013，Xi Jinping chose Tanzania as the first stop of his firstvisit to Africa as China’s new president， implying theimportance of China-Tanzaniarelations； later， Zanzibar PresidentAli Mohamed Shein and TanzanianPrime Minister Mizengo Pinda visitedChina.

　　High-level exchanges during thepast five decades have promotedthe bilateral cooperation in trade，investment， infrastructure， energy，telecommunications and agriculture.The bilateral trade volume hasincreased 16 times from $219 millionin 2003 to $3.69 billion in 2013.Tanzania mainly exports agriculturaland mineral products and importsmechanical and electrical productsand textiles. Currently， 95 percent ofthe Tanzanian goods exported toChina， which will increase to 97percent in 2015， are tariff-free.

　　“Although Tanzania ranks a mere 13th， trade growthbetween China and Tanzania is very fast，” said CaoJiachang， Deputy Director General of the Departmentof Western Asian and African Affairs under the Ministryof Commerce of China.

　　Economic exchange

　　Chinese people began to learn about Tanzania whenthe construction of the Tazara Railway started，which serves as witness to the friendship between thetwo countries. But in recent years， the Tazara Railwayis facing pressing problems such as aging equipmentand capacity shortage. According to Cao， an upgradingprogram is being developed to bring the railwayback to its expected efficiency under the cooperationbetween the two governments.

　　China’s investment in Tanzania has expanded fromconstruction， textile and transportation to agriculture，pharmaceutical products， mineral development， anddaily necessities. A t the end of 2013， China， with theinvestment of $550 million， became Tanzania’s largesttrade partner and the second largest source of foreigndirect investment. Currently， there are around 500Chinese enterprises in Tanzania which create 150，000jobs for the locals.

　　A new and greater cooperation， Bagamoyo Port andIndustrial Zone Project， was signed during PresidentXi’s visit to Tanzania in 2013. John H. Haule， PermanentSecretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairsand International Cooperation， believes that Bagamoyoand Shenzhen have similar geographical advantages.

　　Based on the successful experience of the ShenzhenSpecial Economic Zone， Bagamoyo has a great chanceto become the “Shenzhen of Tanzania，” promoting theoverall economic development of Tanzania.

　　Connecting Tanzania with China， the Middle Eastand Europe， Bagamoyo will be completed in threeyears， with a handling capacity of 20 million containersper year (the current capacity of Dar es Salaam Port is800，000 containers). It will also house facilities like adistributing center and development zone.

　　According to Haule， Bagamoyo will be made asindustrially developed and populous as Shenzhen.At the same time， Bagamoyo will absorb a variety ofindustries， the processing and manufacturing industryin particular， which will attract a lot of labor force. Hesaid， for the Tanzanian Government， Bagamoyo will bea driver for economic development； and for ordinarypeople， it will help them to raise income.

　　The projected cost of Bagamoyo Port is as high asthe Tazara Railway. The construction will be financedby the Hong Kong-based China Merchants Holdings(International) Co. with an investment of $10 billion.

　　Win-win cooperation

　　When China was helping with Tanzanian economic development，Chinese enterprises were also offered a lotof opportunities to invest overseas. Since the 1990s，China has been improving the form of foreign aid， hopingto help more Chinese enterprises enter Africanmarket through aid projects； and meanwhile， it alsomanaged to get the local government and enterprisesinvolved in the operation and management.

　　“Over the past decade， Africa has shown a trendof rapid development， which has a reciprocal demandwith economic growth in China，” said Cao. “Africa’sdevelopment needs financial support， while China， withits abundant foreign exchange reserves， can fuel its domesticeconomic development and improve people’slivelihood and help Chinese enterprises invest overseasas well.”

　　“Compared to the 1960s and 1970s， today China-Tanzania cooperation is more comprehensive andreaches out to more areas. Under the new structure，we have a more flexible formality and wider scope forfurther cooperation，” Cao said.

　　People-to-people contacts and exchanges are alsoremarkable. In the past 46 years， China has consecutivelydispatched 2，000 medical workers to Tanzaniaand provided different training courses to 3，000 Tanzanians.

　　The number of Tanzanians who have studied inChina has increased to 1，200. In different professions，they are making vital contributions to Tanzanian socialand economic development.

　　New splendor

　　Various events and activities were launched to celebratethe 50th anniversary. The Chinese Cartoon andAnimation Exhibition opened on March 19 at theNational Museum of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam， attractingmany local visitors. According to Liu Dong，Cultural Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania，the exhibition targeted three main areas， includinghelping local art and computer technology majorslearn more about animation， introducing students toChina to get short-term training and strengtheningthe cooperation between China and Africa in animationproduction.

　　“This is the most innovative animation exhibitionI’ve ever seen，” said a Chinese visitor. “When Chineseanimations come to Africa， a continent abundant incolors and patterns， the clash of cultures will sparklewith inspiration.”

　　The activities also include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro，a photo exhibition， a martial arts competition， ahot air balloon event， and a Tinga Tinga art exhibition.A Chinese culture center will also open in July.

　　Among all of these events， the Swahili versionChinese TV drama， Jin’s Happy Life， interested SunShangxin the most. It’s the fourth Chinese TV dramathat has been translated into Swahili and was introducedto Africa by China Radio International. “Iworked in Tanzania for 10 years and learned a lotabout the local culture. So I hope Tanzanian peoplecan also have the opportunity to learn about the lifeof Chinese people.”

　　Many years ago， Liu Dong came up with the ideaof introducing Chinese TV dramas to Africa. Now he isplanning to bring more TV adaptations of traditionalChinese literature to the African audience.

　　“The past 50 years show that we haven’t lost whatwe used to have， instead we inherit it and carry itforward， making it shine with vigor in the new era，”said Lu Shaye.

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