On May 31, 2023, Professor Liu Hongwu, a distinguished Changjiang scholar and the dean of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University (IASZNU), along with a delegation, visited Chen Mingjian, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, and Wang Siping, the Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Dean Liu briefed Ambassador Chen on the main purpose of their visit to Tanzania and provided an overview of the 12th session of the China-Africa Think Tank Forum, which had recently taken place in Jinhua, Zhejiang. He also discussed the IASZNU’s efforts in academic exchanges and talent development between Africa and Tanzania in recent years.

Ambassador Chen Mingjian meets with Dean Liu Hongwu and his delegation at the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania.

Dean Liu Hongwu gifted “Studies of Swahili Culture in East Africa” and other works to Ambassador Chen Mingjian.

Ambassador Chen Mingjian, Counselor Wang Siping, and Dean Liu Hongwu took a group photo in front of the embassy building.

In August 2017, Dean Liu Hongwu met with Wang Ke, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania.

Professor Liu Hongwu first studied abroad at the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1990. Over the course of more than 30 years, he has dedicated himself to African studies and founded the first African Studies research institute in China. Professor Liu Hongwu has played a crucial role as a link in different areas, including theoretical development and think tank services, actively contributing to these fields.

In 2020, Dean Liu Hongwu presented “Outlines of African Studies” and other books to Mbelwa Kairuki, the Ambassador of Tanzania to China.

In 1998, Professor Liu Hongwu established the Center for African Studies at Yunnan University and sought guidance from Mr. Yu Qingtai, who was a counselor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time. In 2003, when Mr. Yu Qingtai became the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Liu Hongwu and Ambassador Yu Qingtai met in Tanzania and actively participated in the establishment of the Tanzania-China Friendship Promotion Association. During Dean Liu Hongwu’s visit to Tanzania in 2017, he discussed the planning and filming of the documentary “TAZARA: A Journey Without an End” with Ambassador Wang Ke, who strongly supported the project. In January 2023, Dean Liu Hongwu was invited to deliver an online lecture titled “Viewing the CPC’s diplomacy development through the prism of China-Africa cooperation” to all the staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania.

Dean Liu Hongwu and Lyu Youqing, former Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, were guest speakers on a CCTV program, where they provided insights on the China-Africa Summit.

Dean Liu Hongwu also maintained a good relationship with the Tanzanian Embassy in China. In 2020, when 23 African ambassadors to China visited the IASZNU, Liu Hongwu presented works such as “Outlines of African Studies” to Mbelwa Kairuki, the Tanzanian Ambassador to China. Ambassador Kairuki also provided significant support for the filming of the documentary “TAZARA: A Journey Without an End.” (Source text: IASZNU)