Skip to main content

Tanzania and China


(Image from this website)


(Image from this website)

According to this article, China has been investing in Tanzania for a few decades now, and Tanzania plans on working more with China in the near future given recent concerns of global economic slowdown.

Some excerpts:

"Tanzania is looking to China for help to spur economic growth amid the global crisis. Central Bank Governor Benno Ndulu has said spending cuts may be needed because of pressure on foreign aid, which covered 34 percent of the 7.22 trillion shilling ($5.5 billion) budget this year. China's trade with Tanzania rose 30 percent in 2007 to $688 million.

... Economic cooperation with Tanzania dates back to the early 1970s when China built the $500 million Tazara railroad that runs 1,860 kilometers (1,162 miles) from Zambia's northern copper-belt region to the port of Dar es Salaam. Chinese aid also supported a textile factory that helped start a once-thriving industry now under pressure to compete with cheap garment imports from southeast Asia and a growing second-hand clothing market.

... China is a top importer of Tanzania's timber, a state- regulated trade plagued by corruption, poor management, and illegal logging, Traffic, a Cambridge, U.K.-based conservation group, said in a May 2007 report. China imported 10 times more timber than Tanzania's export records document over the 2004-2005 period, suggesting a 90 percent loss of revenue, the report said.

... Roughly 20 percent of merchandise circulating in Tanzania is counterfeit or pirated, with many of these goods such as clothes, mobile phones and spare car parts manufactured in China, according to an April 2008 study by the Confederation of Tanzania Industries."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Serving up the fix

Originally published on Vijana FM | 22nd July 2012 On a recent album release by Nas called Life is Good , Anthony Hamilton sings “The world is an addiction / serving up a fix”. The track goes on to discuss the dangers of selling out in pursuit of irrational dreams; indeed, “you gain your life just to lose your soul”. Sometimes I wonder if Tanzania is losing her soul. Perhaps – as time passes – it is me growing more conscious, or media becoming more pervasive to drama. But it seems like this country is chasing grandeur that is alien to her history and at odds with what she needs today. Her history and her needs; what do these mean? For the purpose of this post, I am pointing to Tanzania’s historical pursuit to be an independent nation-state, free of international dues and reliance on help. I am also referring to her current state of affairs, mainly consisting of an inefficient system of education coupled with an unbalanced system of trade. There are a few example...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tanzania is not Tasmania

Dear friends: Please let's stop refering to Tanzania as Tasmania. Here is why. Tanzania is located on the coast of East Africa, below Kenya. It is not origin of the the cartoon character from your childhood. Tasmania is an island which is part of Australia. The animal known to exist only on Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil. Once again, you will see this is not the cartoon character you remember from your childhood. Let's summarize: Tanzania is not Tasmania.
Post a Comment
Read more

David Cameron's speech on multiculturalism

From Number10.gov.uk Saturday 5 February 2011 PM’s speech at Munich Security Conference Prime Minister David Cameron has delivered a speech setting out his view on radicalisation and Islamic extremism. Today I want to focus my remarks on terrorism, but first let me address one point. Some have suggested that by holding a strategic defence and security review, Britain is somehow retreating from an activist role in the world. That is the opposite of the truth. Yes, we are dealing with our budget deficit, but we are also making sure our defences are strong. Britain will continue to meet the NATO 2% target for defence spending. We will still have the fourth largest military defence budget in the world. At the same time, we are putting that money to better use, focusing on conflict prevention and building a much more flexible army. That is not retreat; it is hard headed. Every decision we take has three aims in mind. First, to continue to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan . S...
Post a Comment
Read more