By Li Hongmei
Chinese President Xi Jinping began on Sunday a tour of Africa that underlines the continent's strategic importance to China both for its resources and as a market place, signing more than a dozen trade and cooperation deals with Tanzania.
Visiting Tanzania, South Africa and Republic of Congo on his first trip abroad as President Xi following a visit to Russia, Xi is expected to build an expanding economic relationship that many Africans see as a healthy counterbalance to the influence of the West.
In a written statement upon his arrival, Xi lauded the traditional brotherly friendship between China and Tanzania, describing the two countries as all-weather friends.
Xi said his visit is aimed at consolidating the traditional friendship, charting the course for future cooperation and promoting common development.
Since China and Tanzania established diplomatic ties in the 1960s, the two countries have maintained close high-level contacts, enhanced political mutual trust and expanded practical cooperation in a wide range of areas.
China has become Tanzania's largest trading partner and second largest source of investment. Bilateral trade reached 2.47 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 15.2 percent year on year.
The president is set to give a keynote speech on Monday covering relations with Africa and sign some 20 trade, development and cultural accords, before heading to Durban, South Africa to join an emerging economies summit.
China will be keen to showcase that its approach to Africa is different from the West
Tanzania offers Xi an important opportunity to highlight the historical dimension of Sino-African relations.
China's first contacts with Africa could trace to the sea voyages of Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim admiral who led expeditions to the east African coast in the 1400s.
According to some analysts, President Xi's decision to visit Tanzania may suggest that China is not merely interested in short-term economic gains, but that it is interested in developing long-lasting partnerships with African countries.
"China-Africa cooperation is comprehensive," Xi said ahead of the trip, adding that Beijing valued "friendly relationships with all African countries, no matter whether they are big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor".
As always, China will adhere to the principles recapped by President Xi when seeking to further cement relations with African countries, and the time-honored China-Africa friendship will prove immaculate and far-reaching.
