China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Tanzania, his third stop of an annual Africa trip to expand Beijing’s long-running relationship with the continent. China and Africa are celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. Bilateral trade between China and Tanzania rose to US$8.8 billion in 2024, compared to just over US$2 billion in 2020. The recent signing of a US$1.4 billion deal to revitalise the 50-year-old Tanzania-Zambia Railway is also expected to provide Beijing with crucial access to Zambia’s vast copper reserves. Isaac Lukando reports from Dar es Salaam.
