The inauguration of East Africa’s commercial and logistics center is less than a year away

• East Africa Commercial and Logistics Center to open in June 2024, providing trade and investment opportunities for the public. 
• Chinese dedication to helping businesses enter Africa was showcased through the center, supporting Tanzania’s industrialization efforts. 
• Strengthened cooperation between Shandong Province and Tanzania boosts trade volume, paving the way for mutual economic growth.

The public is anticipated to be welcomed into the East Africa Commercial and Logistics Center Limited in June 2024. At the 47th International Trade Fair being hosted at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Grounds, Director General Cathy Wang made this statement.

She claims that the 2024 trade fair will be focused on supporting sustainable development, extending prospects, addressing relevant difficulties for both China and Tanzania and utilizing Chinese experience to assist Tanzania in industrializing.

“The national foreign investment strategy of China is trade first, investment follows and according to the international experience, the success of an investment is inseparable from the expansion of the market, investment, and development need to be combined with the front-end market, and gradually extend to local manufacturing through market sales. Export trade plays a leading role in manufacturing investment projects through trade expansion channels,” she said.

She claimed that part of the reason for this is due to their unwavering dedication to helping Chinese businesses enter Africa, offering a platform for them to research the Tanzanian market, introducing Tanzanian goods to China, actively promoting improved economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, adding value by establishing processing industries and assisting Tanzania’s industrialization.

She claimed that this dedication is reflected in the East Africa Commercial and Logistics Center. Noting that factories can be built after the market is sufficiently developed.

The Department of Commerce of Shandong Province signed strategic cooperation memorandums with the Ministries of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Tanzania and TCCIA, respectively, according to Chen Mingjian, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania. She said this was done to enhance extensive discussions and cooperation between the two parties in areas such as trade promotion, two-way investment, hosting exhibitions, and other areas. In 2022,

“The import and export volume between Shandong Province and Tanzania reached 7.92 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent,” she said.

Tanzanian imports and exports from Shandong Province reached 2.78 billion yuan from January to May of this year, a growth of 10.7%, which is 8.6 percentage points more than Shandong Province’s average increase in imports and exports.

The 47th Multinational Trade Fair will include 266 multinational firms, according to the deputy minister of Investment, industry, and trade, Exaud Kigahesaid. According to him, Tanzanians have the chance to network and conduct business with Chinese corporations. “We should have a close network with them to learn new technologies,” he said.

He said that rather than needing to fly to China, the Chinese might establish businesses here and manufacture goods locally. In order for Tanzania’s economy to expand, he claimed, Tanzania should be the key to East Africa and Central Africa.