There are about 20,000–30,000 Chinese in Tanzania. The 2025 MOFCOM guide estimates around 30,000, including about 4,000 employees of Chinese companies, mostly in Dar es Salaam; at the end of 2024 there were 4,279 Chinese contract workers in the country.
Chinese residents mainly work in investment, construction contracting and wholesale trade, and the community is well organised, with a general chamber of commerce, an association of Chinese enterprises, several provincial chambers and an Overseas Chinese Mutual Aid Centre. China has an embassy in Dar es Salaam and a consulate general in Zanzibar.
History and size
Ties go back a long way. The two governments signed a trade agreement in 1965. Chinese medical teams for the mainland are sent by Shandong Province, the first in March 1968, with 27 teams and 1,115 people so far; teams for Zanzibar come from Jiangsu Province, the first in 1964, with 33 so far.
China is now Tanzania’s largest trading partner, largest source of foreign investment and largest construction contractor. The MOFCOM guide says nearly 100 state-owned enterprises operate in Tanzania and nearly 1,000 Chinese companies are registered there.
Where Chinese live and what they do
Most Chinese live in Dar es Salaam. According to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania, Chinese investment covers ceramics, gypsum board, steel, motorcycles, shoes, tableware, bags, woven sacks, plastic pipes, hygiene products and road haulage, as well as farming, mining, power generation and infrastructure; trade is mainly wholesale of consumer goods, also sold on to neighbouring countries. For sources and differing estimates of population figures, see Chinese population in Africa.
Staff of Chinese companies mostly work on railways, roads, bridges, buildings, water supply, airports and ports; more than 60 Chinese firms do contracting work. Recent major projects include lots 5 and 6 of the Standard Gauge Railway, the Julius Nyerere hydropower plant, the Magufuli Bridge, the Dar es Salaam bus rapid transit and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Industrial parks invested by Chinese private firms include the Kwala industrial park and the Boda industrial park in Kibaha. Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam is a wholesale area with many Chinese traders; since 2025 general retail has been closed to foreigners, see registering a company in Tanzania.
Chambers and associations
This list comes from the appendix of the 2025 MOFCOM guide. Contact details may change, so check before relying on them.
| Name | Contact |
|---|---|
| Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚中华总商会) | Tel. +255-22-2183888, www.tzcbct.org |
| Tanzania Overseas Chinese Mutual Aid Centre (华助中心) | Tel. +255-626-120120, www.tshzzx.cn |
| Association of Chinese Enterprises in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚中资企业商会) | yuntaoj@163.com |
| Chinese Contractors’ Chamber in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚中资企业承包商会) | +255-655-929668 |
| China–Africa Private Chamber of Commerce (中非民间商会) | +255-784-635582 |
| Chinese Kariakoo Chamber of Commerce (中国卡里亚库商会) | dejun8898@163.com |
| Chinese Mining Association (Tanzania) (中国矿业（坦）联合会) | +255-754-489186 |
| China–Tanzania Tourism and Catering Association (中坦旅游餐饮协会) | +255-786-336312 |
| Federation of Overseas Chinese in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚华人华侨联合会) | +255-757-788888 |
| Fujian Association of Tanzania (坦桑尼亚福建同乡会) | +255-754-073281 |
| Shandong Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚山东商会) | +255-783-288888 |
| Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania (坦桑尼亚浙江商会) | +255-716-569566 |
The embassy encourages Chinese companies to join local chambers. For consular problems or language barriers, the Mutual Aid Centre and chambers are a good first contact.
Chinese education and culture
Tanzania has two Confucius Institutes: at the University of Dodoma (opened April 2013, with Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics) and at the University of Dar es Salaam (opened October 2013, with Zhejiang Normal University). Since January 2016 Chinese has been taught on a pilot basis in some secondary schools, with 10 more schools in five regions added in 2017.
Chinese media, WeChat groups and supermarkets
We could not verify the names of Chinese-language media, Chinese supermarkets or malls in Tanzania from official or reliable sources, so we do not list them. WeChat groups are usually run by the chambers and the Mutual Aid Centre; ask them directly.
Chinese embassy, consulate and commercial office
- Chinese Embassy in Tanzania: tz.china-embassy.gov.cn, consular protection +255-754075128. The embassy also has an office in Dodoma.
- Chinese Consulate General in Zanzibar: zanzibar.china-consulate.gov.cn, P.O. Box 1200, Mazizini Kati, Zanzibar, tel. +255-24-2230816.
- Economic and Commercial Office: No. 2 Kajificheni Close, Toure Drive, Dar es Salaam, tel. +255-22-2667585, tz.mofcom.gov.cn.
For safety notices and emergency numbers see the Tanzania safety guide; for Chinese communities elsewhere in the region see East Africa.
References
- Country Guide for Outward Investment and Cooperation: Tanzania (2025 edition) (PRC Ministry of Commerce, CAITEC and the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, 2025)
- Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Tanzania (PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2026)
- Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Zanzibar (PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2026)
- Economic and Commercial Office, Chinese Embassy in Tanzania (PRC Ministry of Commerce, 2026)
- Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania (Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania, 2026)
- Task force exposes hundreds of illegal foreign-owned shops in Kariakoo (The Citizen (Tanzania), 7 June 2025)
- Tanzania bans foreigners from 15 small businesses (The Star (Kenya), 29 July 2025)
- Chinese Embassy in Tanzania urges Chinese citizens to strengthen security precautions (in Chinese) (China News Service, 26 May 2020)