Khamis Mussa Omar, Tanzania's Ambassador to China, said that Tanzania attaches great importance to the ongoing China International Import Expo (CIIE), highlighting that China's opening up will continue to benefit the entire world through its own development.
Running from Nov 5 to 10, the 7th CIIE has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. It also sets a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders attending the event.
As one of the guest countries of honor, Tanzania has sent a high-level delegation to participate in the CIIE this year to promote the country's export products, including high quality coffee beans and Tanzanite, a blue gemstone often used in jewelery.
The CIIE, the world's first national-level exposition dedicated to imports, also holds great significance for the ambassador, as he attended last year's event only one month after assuming the post.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG) ahead of the event, he expressed great expectations for the 7th CIIE.
"This time there will be a high-level leader from Tanzania to lead the delegation because of the importance that we attach not only to the CIIE in general, but in this particular year because of the role that Tanzania will be playing there. For Tanzania definitely, we will be looking forward to strengthening our bilateral trade. And that includes exports from Tanzania to China, which means the CIIE is a very good platform for us to strengthen that trade. I've also seen a rise in consumption of coffee, some coffee shops coming up every corner in China as well. There will be a promotion of Tanzanian coffee as well," said Omar.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Tanzania. Official data shows that China has been Tanzania's largest trading partner for eight consecutive years.
Omar emphasized cooperative results between China and Tanzania over the years, stressing that China is benefiting the world through its own development.
"Some of us who were born 1960s, we grew up 1970s, we somehow know where China comes from. Since the opening up and reforms, we see how China has developed. And that development means a lot in terms of the global development. A lot of innovation is happening here in China that benefits the entire world, especially us from the developing countries. I recently visited Hubei to see the demonstration zone for clean energy. What we saw there in terms of innovation and the subsequent benefits out of this innovation to the entire world, it was simply mind-blowing. It was amazing," he said.
At this year's CIIE, the exhibition area for African products has been expanded to implement the outcomes of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, held alongside the expo, will also hold discussions on China-Africa cooperation.
The ambassador emphasized that countries of the Global South should draw lessons from China's development experience. He also highlighted that China's development initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI), are crucial for the shared progress of the Global South.
"The BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), now 11 years -- it has really helped a lot of other countries in terms of opening up for more trade, for more investment. We hear about the new initiative to move forward, the high quality development and the new forces. We look at these with very keen interest because we know that once they succeed in China, it will mean a lot also, it means a lot to us as well," said the ambassador.
Tanzanian ambassador to China confident import expo will help boost bilateral trade
