China’s Xi Thought Centre opens in Tanzania

KIBAHA: TANZANIA and China have deepened their long-standing political ties with the launch of the Research Centre for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha.

The initiative, according to the participating political parties, aims to strengthen ideological cooperation and governance ties between China and Southern African liberation movements.

The launch ceremony brought together senior leaders from the Communist Party of China (CPC), Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and representatives of Southern African liberation parties that jointly own the leadership school.

Leading the Chinese delegation was Liu Haixing, a member of the CPC Central Committee and Minister for the International Department of the CPC. He described the centre as Africa’s first dedicated platform for studying Xi Jinping Thought.

Liu said the centre would deepen political dialogue, governance exchange and leadership development between China and Africa at a time when many developing countries were seeking independent paths to modernisation and economic growth.

“Today, Africa’s first Research Centre for Xi Jinping Thought is officially established in Tanzania,” Liu said during the ceremony. “It will further deepen China-Africa friendship and inject new momentum into cooperation among the six sister parties under the new international environment.”

The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School was jointly established by CCM, South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), Mozambique’s FRELIMO, Angola’s MPLA, Namibia’s SWAPO and Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF. Built with Chinese support, the institution was officially inaugurated in 2022.

CCM Secretary-General, Ambassador Asha-Rose Migiro said the launch represented more than the opening of a research institution, describing it as a symbol of enduring political trust between China and Africa. Reading a message from President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Migiro said the centre marked “another important milestone” in relations built on solidarity, dignity, independence and development cooperation.

She said the school had already emerged as an important training institution for political leaders and public officials across Southern Africa.

According to figures released during the event, the school conducted 93 leadership and policy programmes between February 2022 and December 2025, attracting more than 14,700 participants.

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Migiro said China’s experience in poverty reduction, long-term planning, institutional discipline and governance offered important lessons for developing nations.

“One defining feature of the CPC experience has been its emphasis on maintaining close ties between the party and the people,” Migiro said in the presidential message. “The value of the school lies in mutual learning, serious study and thoughtful adaptation.”

The launch also underscored China’s expanding political engagement in Africa beyond trade and infrastructure investment, extending into governance training, ideological exchange and party-toparty diplomacy.

ANC National Executive Committee member Lindiwe Zulu praised the initiative, saying liberation movements needed continuous political education to remain relevant and effective in government.

“Liberation movements that stop studying eventually stop leading,” Zulu said, warning against political stagnation and loss of ideological clarity.