President Hu Jintao visited Tanzania from February 14th to 16th, 2009, during which he held talks with his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, met with President Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar, and delivered an important speech to a welcoming conference attended by people from various sectors. He and Presdietn Kikwete jointly witnessed the signing ceremony of economic and trade cooperation agreements between the two countries, attended the completion ceremony of a stadium built with the assistance from the Chinese government, and placed a wreath at the cemetery in commemoration of Chinese experts who died in their assistance to Tanzania.

This is the first time for a Chinese head of state to visit Tanzania, which is a milestone in the history of bilateral friendly relations and has far-reaching significance for the development of bilateral friendship.

China and Tanzania enjoy brotherly traditional friendship and are all-weather cooperation partners, which is forged by the old generations of leaders. The Chinese government has provided disinterested assistance to Tanzania since the 1960s, of which the Tanzara and Friendship Textile Factory still play an important role today. The bilateral friendship built with the joint efforts of the two peoples has stood the test of the changes in international situation and grown stronger and stronger.

In 2006, the Beijing Summit of FOCAC established the new type China-Africa strategic partnership, marking that China-Africa friendly cooperation enters a new era of development, and injecting new dynamism into China-Tanzania relations. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Tanzania. Over the past 45 years, China-Tanzania relations have been moving forward smoothly with frequent exchanges of high-level visits and fruitful cooperation in all fields. In international affairs, the two sides have always shown mutual support and cooperation. In April 2008, the president of Tanzania paid a successful visit to China. The Olympic torch relay activity was successfully held in Dar es Salaam, enabling Tanzanian people to have a better understanding of China and Beijing, and the Chinese people about Africa and Tanzania.

In recent years, the economic and trade cooperation and exchanges between the two countries have also grown fast. In 2008, with the joint efforts of the two sides, the two-way trade volume exceeded US $1 billion, coming to a new stage. By the end of 2008, there had been altogether over 30 Chinese enterprises investing in Tanzania, with a total investment over US $100 million.