July 5th, 2016
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
It gives me great pleasure to join you in the International Seminar on China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation. On behalf of the Embassy of China in Tanzania, I wish to extend warmest welcome to all the distinguished guests and scholars attending the Seminar, and express sincere thanks to the co-host, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania, and the co-organizer, the China Research Center at Dar es Salaam University. My thanks also go to all those who made contributions to the Seminar.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, the global economy is still stuck in low gear. Yet the African economy shows strong vitality and maintains steady and rapid growth momentum. Due to the historic reason and the unreasonable international political and economic order, the industrialization degree of African countries is generally low and the demand for industrial products has to rely on importation. To transform the economic development mode based on primary products and natural resource exportation, African countries are making active efforts to push forward industrialization. In this way, African countries could upgrade the economic development quality, create more jobs, improve livelihood, increase tax revenue and move forward on the way to financial independence and better national development.
We have noticed that both the 2063 Agenda and the First Ten-Year Development Plan of African Union have placed high priority on manufacturing and industrialization. The newly approved Second Five-year Development Plan of Tanzania has prioritized industrialization on the agenda of the fifth government, and confirmed it as the important pathway for Tanzania to realize the 2025 Vision and rank among the middle-income countries. According to the budget for the fiscal year of 2016 to 2017 of Tanzania, 40% of the fund is set aside for development projects to improve the industrial system and infrastructure. His Excellency President Magufuli also reaffirmed, in many occasions, the importance of industrialization to Tanzania. He keeps on encouraging excellent Chinese enterprises to invest in Tanzania and promises to provide convenience.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As an old friend of Africa and Tanzania, China attaches great importance to the China-Africa relations and has been upholding the principle of "sincerity, real-results, affinity and good faith" when developing relations with Africa. China is willing to align her own development strategy with the African development strategy, and to carry out Africa-bound industrial investment cooperation by implementing "Ten Cooperation Plans" , which will benefit economic and social development of Africa.
Meanwhile, as the second largest economy in the world with a full set of industrial system, China is competent and qualified to be the ideal partner of Africa to propel industrialization. The advanced and high quality industrial capacity, abundant capital, technology, equipment and management expertise of China well correspond the practical need of the industrial development strategy of Africa.
In concept, China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation emphasizes win-win cooperation on the basis of willingness, equality and mutual benefit; in the mode of cooperation, it features openness, inclusiveness and two-way interaction; in content, it focuses on environmental friendliness by ensuring all the industrial capacity transferred to Africa is urgently needed, competitive, advanced and green. It's expected that China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation could help African countries to speed up building the industrial system, improve manufacturing capacity and enhance the "blood-making" ability. We hope that the cooperation would serve as major drivers for African industrialization and contribute to win-win cooperation and common development.
Dear friends,
The prospect of China-Tanzania Industrial Capacity Cooperation is bright and it should become the model of China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation. Tanzania is one of the three pilot countries chosen by China for industrial capacity cooperation. After the framework agreement on industrial capacity cooperation being initialed in April 2015, relevant stakeholders of China and Tanzania have met for many times and achieved general consensus. The two sides have upgraded the coordination mechanism and identified a group of priority projects. Regular meetings have been held between the two sides to implement the outcome of the Johannesburg Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum.
According to the statistics of Tanzania Investment Center, by the end of 2015, Chinese investment to Tanzania has reached US$6.62 billion. At present, major cooperation projects between China and Tanzania have made encouraging progress, including the project of TAZARA Revitalization, Kinyerezi III Natural Gas Power Plant and Dar es Salaam to Arusha Power Transmission Line, to name but a few. Projects invested by private companies from China, such as oil-pressing mill, ceramics factory, cement plant, steel rolling mill and cassava processing plant, are going on smoothly.
Ladies and gentlemen,
On the occasion of rapid development of the China-Africa and China-Tanzania Industrial Capacity Cooperation, we gather here to hold the International Seminar of China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation. The Seminar reveals valuable academic meaning and urgent practical significance with the experts and scholars from Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and China to jointly pool wisdom and discuss on development.
I wish every expert and scholar would give his or her specialty into full play and put forward profound insights for the benefits of China-Africa and China-Tanzania Industrial Capacity Cooperation.
Wish the Seminar a complete success!
Thank you!