DAR ES SALAAM (Realist English). China has pledged to deepen cooperation and exchanges with Tanzania, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi promising that Beijing would “always stand together” with African countries as he continued his regional tour on Friday.
During talks with Tanzanian officials, Wang also called on Tanzania to work with China to uphold international law and multilateralism. Observers say this message has become central to Beijing’s diplomatic outreach to Africa amid what it sees as Washington’s retreat from the rules-based international system.
Wang is set to conclude his six-day African tour on Monday, having already visited Ethiopia and Tanzania, with a stop in Lesotho also on the itinerary. A planned visit to Somalia — which would have marked the first trip by a Chinese foreign minister to the country since the 1980s — was postponed on Friday, with China’s embassy in Mogadishu citing “scheduling conflicts”.
Despite the change, Wang held a phone call on Sunday with Somali Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali, during which he reiterated China’s support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. Wang also said Beijing opposed what he described as collusion between Somaliland and Taiwan in pursuit of independence, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.
Ali, in turn, reaffirmed that Somalia adheres to the one-China principle, recognises Taiwan as an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China, and considers Taiwan-related issues to be China’s internal affairs, the statement said.
Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region in northern Somalia, proclaimed independence in 1991 but gained formal recognition from only one country — Israel — late last month, a move that has drawn criticism from Beijing.