Built to Last

　　The emergence of China as a major industrial giantin the present millennium has provoked tremendous interestand triggered a sense of apprehension among leading globalpowers， especially the United States and Western Europeannations. China’s ascendance in Africa is new， but not inTanzania， where it has been operating in many sectors sincethe 1960s， as one of the most trusted and reliable developmentpartners.

　　Tanzania has enjoyed a special relationship with China，largely as a result of the great bond created during the ColdWar， when the two countries were regarded by the capitalistWest as socialist and communist bastions. The emergingconsensus in Tanzania seems to suggest that China hasboosted the fortunes of many people by extending soft loansand fair lending terms that would not have been possibleunder the IMF and World Bank in the past five decades. Manyimport-export businesses are thriving and Dar es Salaam Porthas increasing arrivals and departures to and from China. It’sinteresting to note that one of the peculiar characteristicsof engagement is the primacy of global geopolitics versusnational economic interests， in influencing and shaping thepolitical， socio-cultural and economic interaction betweenChina and Tanzania.

　　China appears to have good intentions for Tanzania， goingby the quality of development that is taking place in thecountry with Chinese assistance. All these influences wereused to shape the kind of development we see in Tanzaniatoday. China’s interests in Tanzania are diverse. It has movedinto areas of oil and mineral exploration in the country，as well as agricultural development. At present， China isinvolved in the construction of over 20 major official roadimprovements in Tanzania.

　　From the 1980s， Chinese presidents have visited Africamore than Western presidents and prime ministers combined.

　　During his 10-year rule， former President Hu Jintaovisited over 20 African countries， including giant regionalplayers such as South Africa， Tanzania， Kenya and Nigeria， tothe smaller players such as Mali， Mauritius， Namibia and Cameroon.

　　This is different from the approach of U.S. presidents，who only visit demonstrated democracies. In 2013， Xi Jinpingmade his first overseas trip to Africa as China’s new president，making it clear that the continent was the number onepriority for China， and as expected， Tanzania was among thecountries that he visited. This indicated to the world the specialplace Tanzania holds in the minds of China’s leadership.

　　The Tanzania-Zambia (Tazara) Railway is perhaps oneof the most successful and single-most transformativeinvestment projects by China in Tanzania and Zambia， andconsequently the infrastructure development in Tanzaniatoday owes a lot to China’s focus on Africa. Coupled to thisis Tanzania being one of the nations that has achieved thehighest level of integration and cohesion in Africa. This ismainly due to the fact that the country has never experiencedmajor political instability， which scholars attributeto the ethos and values of Ujamaa ideology. [Ujamaa， theSwahili for “familyhood，” was the social and economic policydeveloped by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere， the founding fatherof Tanzania. - Editor] What many observers have noted is theshared similarity in terms of reverence for Nyerere， in manyways is similar to Mao Zedong in China.

　　The revolutionary treatise， called The Great Leap Forwardby Mao， has often been compared to The Arusha Declarationof Tanzania by Nyerere， which placed Tanzania on a greatsocialist development pedestal. Nyerere enjoyed specialrelations with Mao. The success of the Communist Party ofChina encouraged young revolutionaries in Tanzania suchas Nyerere， who went on to create his own philosophy of development，known as Ujamaa. Ujamaa was a hybrid of sorts，influenced by Nyerere’s Catholic upbringing of hard workand consideration for the needy， along with Karl Marx andthe twin Marxist ideologies of socialism and communism.

　　Nyerere was also influenced by Mao’s Great Leap Forward aswell as other socialist revolutionaries， such as Argentine CheGuevara.

　　China understands that its success in Tanzania， and Africaas a whole， will be determined by its ability to persuadeTanzania that China is not going to be an exploiter， but adependable development partner， operating under mutualrespect. China stood by Tanzania during the Cold War andduring the tough times of Structural Adjustment Program(SAP) and many in Tanzania associate more freely with theAsian giant than with Western powers. They see in China afriend who has a similar past， embedded in socialist idealsand policies that promote the interests of the ordinaryperson. This augurs well to a meaningful relationship for thenext 50 years.

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