Chinese, Tanzanian Finance Ministers hold virtual meeting on bilateral ties

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday held a virtual meeting with Tanzanian Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula on bilateral ties.

Wang said that China-Tanzania friendship has taken root in people’s hearts and is unbreakable.

“Whenever the Chinese people think of Tanzania, the TAZARA railway will come into their minds. We should carry forward the TAZARA spirit and firmly support and help each other no matter what difficulties or disturbances we encounter, so that the friendship between China and Tanzania and between China and Africa will always be full of vitality.”

“China is ready to view its relations with Tanzania from a strategic and long-term perspective, follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continuously deepen the comprehensive cooperative partnership between the two countries and make greater contributions to the autonomous development of the African continent,” said Wang.

Mulamula congratulated China on successfully hosting the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

She said Tanzania-China relations are at their best in history with fruitful results in practical cooperation in various fields.

“Tanzania is committed to making Tanzania-China relations a benchmark for Africa-China relations and will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy, firmly support China’s legitimate position, support China in safeguarding its core interests and oppose external interference in China’s internal affairs. Tanzania is willing to enhance bilateral friendly cooperation and push bilateral relations to new heights.”

The two sides agreed to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the Tanzania Development Vision 2025, and expand bilateral cooperation in agriculture, trade, investment and infrastructure.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in epidemic control and public health.

Mulamula thanked China for its strong support for Tanzania’s fight against COVID-19 and public health.
Wang said that as the pandemic is still spreading around the world, China will provide more vaccines and send a new group of medical teams to Zanzibar as soon as possible if needed.

They agreed to continue discussing the vitalization of the TAZARA railway so that this landmark project of China-Africa friendship will make new contributions to the economic and social development of the African continent.

A decision was taken to use the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Tanzania diplomatic ties in 2024 as an opportunity to sum up the valuable experience of bilateral exchanges and cooperation and work out better designs of celebration activities to inject strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations in the next 60 years.

There was also an agreement to strengthen cooperation under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, push for the implementation of the “Nine Projects” initiative in Tanzania and produce more concrete results.

Mulamula thanked China for its contribution to Africa’s economic recovery and sustainable development and spoke highly of China’s establishment of a green channel for African agricultural exports, as well as its zero-tariff treatment for African products.

Wang stressed that China will remain a reliable partner for Africa’s development and revitalization.

The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on international issues and agreed that under the current complex and turbulent international situation, developing countries should strengthen solidarity and coordination, uphold multilateralism, jointly resist the tide of unilateralism, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.