Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has signaled her country’s intention to expand economic partnership with China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province, setting the stage for cooperation that could include industrial parks, agricultural trade, cultural exchanges and investment flows. During a meeting with Shaanxi officials in the Tanzanian capital, she described the province’s economic transformation as a model worth adapting and expressed hope for joint projects that strengthen Tanzania’s growth agenda.
Tanzania’s Minister for Investment, Industry and Trade, Ashatu Kijaji, noted that the proposed cooperation would build on Tanzania’s industrial strategy, which now targets value-addition, import substitution and export diversification. She identified areas such as agro-processing, manufacture of building materials and logistics as possible focal sectors. The government’s White Paper on Industrialisation explicitly emphasises regional manufacturing hubs, something Shaanxi, with its large industrial base in aerospace, energy and equipment manufacturing, could help develop.
The interest in Shaanxi reflects the broader Tanzania-China bilateral relationship, first formalised in 1964. China has since become a major development partner for Tanzania, with infrastructure projects spanning railways, ports, energy and telecoms. Notable examples include the 4.66-kilometre Magufuli Bridge over Lake Victoria, completed in June 2025, and the long-distance Standard Gauge Railway connecting Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, which Chinese firms helped construct.
According to analysts at the Africa–China Centre for Policy and Advisory (ACCPA), the transition now is toward provincial-level cooperation such as the Shaanxi-Tanzania axis, reflecting how China’s development model is being internationalised. Rather than purely national agreements, these sub-national linkages create more direct industry, investment and knowledge-exchange pathways.
Officials from Shaanxi expressed readiness to explore a joint industrial park in Tanzania’s agricultural north, where clusters of agro-processors could purchase local crops, package them, and supply regional markets. One Shaanxi delegation member highlighted the province’s experience in promoting equipment manufacturing and urban clusters, “Tanzania has comparative advantages – land, labour, markets and we bring the know-how.”
Economic commentators note that Tanzania’s unique advantage lies in its coastal access, large labour pool, and membership in the East African Community, making it a natural gateway for Chinese-Tanzanian production into neighbouring markets. A recent report from the Industry, Trade and Investment Ministry estimated that manufacturing’s share of GDP could rise from 8% to 15% by 2030 if anchor investors were secured – an area where Chinese provincial partnerships could be decisive.
While the opportunity is significant, experts caution that success will depend on several factors: ensuring local capacity-building, aligning infrastructure and power supply, promoting local participation, environmental safeguards and maintaining transparent governance standards. In the current global environment, such partnerships are also viewed through the lens of sustainable, inclusive growth rather than only foreign capital inflows.
