The South China Morning Post published on 6 July 2025 an article titled "Inside China and Tanzania's 'Very Special Relationship'--Found Nowhere Else in Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Of all the countries in Africa, Tanzania has perhaps the longest, continuous military cooperation relationship with China. It dates back to the early 1970s and involves all elements of Tanzania's military.
The US Army War College published on 9 October 2024 a paper titled "Peace and Unity: China's Growing Military Footprint in Tanzania" by Jake Vartanian.
The paper outlines the July/August 2024 Sino-Tanzanian exercise Peace Unity, which involved elements of the Tanzanian People's Defense Forces and the Mozambique Armed Forces in a land phase and a sea phase.
The author concluded that the PLA has consolidated its military foothold in Tanzania, including a pro-PLA and pro-Chinese Communist Party sentiment through military aid and PLA-sponsored professional military education. Tanzania also serves as an ideal proving ground for the PLA to execute military essential tasks in land operations and to test its joint expeditionary capabilities in an operational environment well beyond its borders.
The Citizen published on 15 November 2021 an article titled "National Defense College to Train Civilian Leaders" by Louis Kalumbia.
Tanzania inaugurated a new National Defense College on 14 November. China financed the $25 million facility, which is expected to begin training in February 2022.
china-africa relations
