Odd Timing of Tanzanian President's Visit to Russia

 Africa-Press published on 3 June 2026 an article titled "Tanzania: Historic Russia Visit Amid Tensions."

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan made an official visit to Russia 3-5 June, the first visit by a Tanzanian leader in over five decades.  The visit takes place following disputed elections in Tanzania in October 2025, deteriorating relations with the West, and during Russia's war with Ukraine.

A June 2 article in Tanzania's Taufa Daily titled "10 Reasons President Samia's Russia Visit Is a Major Win for Tanzania" goes to considerable lengths to justify the timing of the visit.

Tanzania's Election Violence: US and EU Reassess While China and Russia Expand Ties

Chatham House published on 4 December 2025 an analysis titled "Tanzania's Election Violence: Deflecting Blame Will Only Do More Harm" by Fergus Kell. 

Tanzania held elections last October that resulted in extensive violence and hundreds of civilian deaths.  Key opponents to President Samia Suluhu Hassan were prevented from competing.  Polling stations were nearly empty on election day.  The government declared Samia the winner with 98 percent of the vote and a turnout of nearly 33 million in a country where the entire voting age population is 35 million.  Violence quickly broke out.

The United States and European Union have been critical of the election and are reassessing their relationship with Tanzania.  China and Russia have remained uncritical.  China is moving forward with a $1.4 billion project to refurbish the Tanzania-Zambia Railway while Russia continues to pursue its $1.2 billion uranium project.  

Xi Jinping Congratulates Tanzanian President after Flawed Election

 China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on 6 November 2025 a statement titled "Xi Jinping Sends Congratulatory Message to Samia Suluhu Hassan on Her Assuming Office as President of Tanzania."

President Hassan received 97 percent of the vote in a highly flawed election that even an African Union monitoring team concluded "did not comply with AU principles."  There were also numerous deaths following the voting.  While Xi Jinping did not comment on the election, he said China looks forward to advancing "the China-Tanzania comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to new heights."

Chinese Naval Task Force Visits Tanzania on Occasion of 60 Years of Diplomatic Relations

 South Africa's The Citizen published on 27 March 2024 an article titled "China, Tanzania Set to Mark 60 Years of Naval Cooperation" by Jacob Mosenda.

Tanzania and China are marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the visit of the 45th Chinese naval task group (guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi, and supply ship Dongpinghu), which recently completed its anti-piracy rotation in the Gulf of Aden.  Describing the China-Africa relationship, the article noted that China is Tanzania's largest trade partner and source of foreign direct investment.  

Comment:  It is true that China is Tanzania's largest trade partner and in 2022 was its largest source of foreign direct investment.  The Chinese ambassador to Tanzania pointed out that in 2023 China-Tanzania trade reached $8.8 billion.  What was left unsaid is the fact that this trade consists overwhelmingly of Chinese exports to Tanzania, leaving Dar es Salaam with a huge trade deficit.  In 2022, for example, Tanzania's exports to China totaled only $535 million.  Until 2021, the United Kingdom was the largest source of Tanzania's FDI; China passed the UK in 2022.

Before arriving at the port of Dar es Salaam, China's 45th naval task force participated with the Russian and Iranian navies in the 5th iteration of the trilateral naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman.  Military Africa reported the engagement on 18 March 2024 in an article titled "South Africa Observes as Russia, China, and Iran Hold Naval Drill" by Sarah Lesedi.   

China Seeks to Revive Tanzania-Zambia Railway

 The South China Morning Post published on 12 November 2023 an article titled "China on Track to Control African Tazara Railway Despite Geopolitical Needling over Control of Mineral Trade Routes" by Jevans Nyabiage.

A Chinese company is expected to negotiate a public-private partnership concession in the form of a build-operate-transfer model with Tanzania and Zambia to operate the 50-year old Chinese-built Tanzam railway.  It is also expected to upgrade the railway at an estimated cost of $1 billion. This is not an aid project but a commercially viable venture.  

India Steps Up Competition with China in Tanzania

 The Diplomat published on 14 October 2023 a commentary titled "The China Factor in the India-Tanzania Strategic Partnership" by Raghvendra Kumar, an independent researcher who recently submitted his doctoral thesis at the University of Delhi.  

China's Belt and Road Initiative in Tanzania has contributed to economic and environmental vulnerabilities that, in turn, has created space for New Delhi to expand and consolidate its bilateral engagement with Dar es Salaam.  Tanzania is a reliable and trusted partner for India in its extended Indian Ocean maritime neighborhood.  

Historical Review of China-Tanzania Relations

 World Politics Review published on 3 March 2023 an analysis titled "Tanzania and China's Upgraded Relations Aren't as Solid as They Seem" by Alex White, University of Cambridge.

During a visit to Beijing in November 2022, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Xi Jinping announced the formation of a "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership."  The author suggests the declaration marked an important turning point in relations between China and Tanzania but could also open up new challenges that might further expose the limitations of Beijing's historical personalized diplomacy in the country.

China Signs Railway Deal with Tanzania

 Agence France Presse published on 20 December 2022 an article titled "Tanzania Signs $2.2 bln Railway Deal with China."

This final section (from Tabora to Kigoma) of the standard gauge construction project will link Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean to Mwanza on Lake Victoria.

Comment: It is not clear who is providing the loan for the project.  China is Africa's largest bilateral source of loans, although they have declined significantly since 2016.  It is not, as the article suggests, Africa's "biggest investor," at least not in terms of foreign direct investment.   

China-Tanzania Ties

 The South China Morning Post published on 4 November 2022 an article titled "China Tanzania Ties Sealed with 15 Agreements During Presidential Visit" by Jevans Nyabiage.  

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African leader to visit China following the 20th Communist Party Congress.  The visit allowed the two countries to solidify their already close relations but did not result in any dramatic new deals, although China did elevate Tanzania to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, generally regarded as China's highest diplomatic level.  

China-Tanzania Joint Statement

 China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on 3 November 2022 a "Joint Statement on Establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the People's Republic of China and the United Republic of Tanzania."

The joint statement resulted from the visit to China by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan beginning on 2 November 2022.  There were surprisingly few new commitments in the joint statement and no direct reference to the controversial Bagamoyo port project.  The most important new development was the elevation of Tanzania's bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.  The other new developments were:

--Provision of duty-free treatment for 98 percent of tariff goods originating from Tanzania.  (This will have limited impact, however, because Tanzania does not have much that China wants to purchase.  Tanzania imports ten times more goods by value from China than it exports to China.)

--Upgrading and renovation of the TAZARA railway between Dar es Salaam and Zambia's copper mines.  (China has done this before; it is not clear who is paying this time.)

--Providing an undetermined number of additional scholarships for Tanzanian students.  (The joint statement provided no numbers on past scholarships or the future increase.)

--Invitation for Xi Jinping to visit Tanzania in 2024 as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China.   

Likely Agenda Items for Tanzanian President's Visit to China

 The South China Morning Post published on 1 October 2022 an article titled "Tanzania's Hassan Makes State Visit to China with Projects on Her Mind" by Jevans Nyabiage.

The suspended $10 billion Bagamoyo Port and special economic zone will almost certainly be on the agenda of talks with Chinese officials during the visit by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.  The status of other infrastructure projects and the party-to-party relationship will also likely be high on the list for discussion.  

High Expectations for Tanzanian President's Visit to China

 Tanzania's Daily News published on 30 October 2022 an article titled "TZ to Reap Big from Samia's China Visit" by Deogratius Kamagi.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is making a state visit to China next week, the first by an African leader since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party.  Tanzania has big expectations for the visit.  The article notes that trade between China and Tanzania has increased 20 percent annually over the last three years.  

Comment:  While China-Tanzania trade has been growing impressively since 2019, it should also be noted that the trade balance heavily favors China.  In 2019, Tanzania exported $349 million in goods to China, but imported $3.81 billion worth from China.  In 2020, Tanzanian exports to China totaled $388 million while imports from China totaled $4.17 billion.  In 2021, Tanzanian exports to China reached $606 million but imports from China reached $6.14 billion or more than ten times the value of Tanzania's exports.