(Press Release By Chinese Embassy)
It is widely acknowledged that the Sino-Tanzanian relations of economy and trade have been strengthened and promoted over the past years. In 2001 the volume of export and import between China and Tanzania was only 93.4 million US dollars and in 2010 it reached 1.65 billion USD, which was increased by 16.7 times. Ten years ago there were only 12 Chinese contractor with only about 240 Chinese managers and engineers here and nowadays there are more than 30 Chinese companies with nearly 3000 Chinese people and over 30,000 Tanzanian employees undertaking roads, bridges, water supply, buildings, telecommunication works and other infrastructural projects. In the end of last century, only a few Chinese restaurants and garages were managed in Dar es Salaam. Today there are nearly 300 Chinese investors in Tanzania with total investment of approximately 200 million US dollars running factories including shoes-making, plastic wares, motorcycle production, TV set production and some others.
With the continuing increase of trade and economic cooperation between China and Tanzania, more and more Tanzanian people are eagered to travel to China finding businese opportunities. In the first three months of the year 2011, there are altogether 1548 people, most of them are local Tanzanian, who came to Chinese Embassy and Chinese Consulate General in Zanzibar for visa application. Especially in March alone, the visa applicants reach more than 955 (750 for the Embassy and 205 for the Consulate General), approximately 30% more than the same month last year. If this number keeps for every following months up to the end of this year, Chinese Embassy will receive more than 10000 visa applications for the whole year, and that will be another historical record.
On the purpose of meeting the increasing requests for Chinese visas, Chinese Embassy has decided its Consular Office will open to the public now 5 days a week (Monday to Friday) instead of 3 days a week, an old working system that has been practised for many years. In the future, Chinese Embassy will continue to do its best to promote bilateral exchange, to better serve the people of the two countries. The Embassy has the pleasure herewith to ask Tanzanian friends who is planning to apply for Chinese visas to prepare the required documents for saving the handling time.