How China’s GDI fosters new drivers of Tanzania-China cooperation

AT the recently held first high-level conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development hosted by the China International Development Cooperation Agency, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania, spoke highly of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI).

She said: “We need to understand that isolation and confrontation cannot and will never yield positive results. In this regard, we commend the GDI as an innovative mechanism and an excellent opportunity to promote our own development.” Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in December 2019, the world has been facing many challenges including decreasing production of goods and increasing cost of transportation.

The GDI was first proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2021 when he addressed the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

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It aims to build consensus on cooperation, promote common development, and help accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The initiative focuses on the following eight priority areas: poverty alleviation, food security, pandemic response and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialisation, digital economy, and connectivity in the digital era.

The GDI adheres to six principles, namely staying committed to development as a priority, staying committed to a people-centred approach, staying committed to benefits for all, staying committed to innovation-driven development, staying committed to harmony between man and nature, and staying committed to results-oriented actions.

Through the GDI, China has made great contributions to promoting the steady growth of global economy in the post-Covid era, and has always shared its fruits of development with the rest of the world.

In cooperating with Tanzania, the Chinese government has provided duty free treatment of 98 per cent tariff lines of goods originating from Tanzania to China and promised to help Tanzania to gain greater market access for its featured products, including avocado, wild aquatic products, honey among others. On top of that, China has written off $13.49 million of the Tanzanian debt.

The duty-free treatment will help increase the volume of Tanzania’s exports to China, and have a positive effect on the country’s poverty alleviation efforts.

Tanzania has actively participated in the implementation of the GDI. On 3 November 2022, when President Samia visited China, Tanzania signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China on strengthening development cooperation and jointly implementing the GDI.

The first project involving Tanzania which has been listed in the project pool of the GDI is the Class of 2020 Master of Science Degree (MSc) Fisheries Programme.

This programme was run under the Food Production Enhancement Action, which deals with food security, one of the eight priority areas.

The aim of this programme is to help Tanzania and other eleven developing countries to increase the number of talents in the fishing sector so as to enhance their capacity in fisheries.

The second project relating to Tanzania under the GDI framework is China’s cooperation with Switzerland on Malaria prevention and control in Tanzania which was announced at the first high-level conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, which was held in Beijing on July 10, 2023.

This project aims to reduce the infections and deaths caused by malaria in Tanzania substantially through China-Switzerland Tanzania trilateral cooperation.

Speaking of development cooperation, we cannot spare the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).

It is one of the biggest turnkey foreign aid projects China has ever financed and undertaken abroad. Due to various reasons, the operation of the TAZARA Railway has been unsatisfactory for a number of years.

The good news on this issue is that the top leaders of Tanzania, Zambia and China have agreed to actively advance the upgrade and renovation of this historic railway.

We hope that the three countries will reach agreement on the cooperation modality at an early date. Currently, Chinese enterprises are participating in the construction of two strategic flagship projects in Tanzania: Lot Five and Lot Six of the Central Line Standard Gauge Railway, and the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station.

Another Chinese company Group Six International is constructing the Sino-Tan Industrial Park in Kibaha, Coast Region, which is expected to generate around 450,000 jobs after it becomes fully operational.

Through the GDI, China is working side by side with Tanzania in promoting industrialisation and production capacity cooperation, with a focus on expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as trade, agro-processing, industrial production, infrastructure development, tourism, digital economy, and vocational training.

As President Samia said in her video speech delivered at the first high-level conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, the GDI will help us foster new drivers of ChinaTanzania cooperation, and for Tanzania, China has been a true friend and a reliable partner that has worked closely with Tanzania over the past several decades.

As we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tanzania and China next year, we look forward to more fruitful cooperation between the two countries with joint advancement of the GDI.

The writer is a Dar es Salaam-based analyst on international politics and foreign relations 

Email: cleophacegeorge@gmail.com

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