China, Zambia and Tanzania have signed a US$1.4 billion agreement to revive the 1,860 km Tanzania–Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway line, the project’s sponsors say. The deal, struck during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Lusaka, aims to modernise the corridor in order to boost the transport of copper out of Zambia and facilitate fuel and other imports into the land-locked country.
The TAZARA line, which links Zambia’s mining belt with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, is expected to provide a lower-cost export route and deepen Beijing’s access to strategic minerals. Meanwhile, trade data show China remains a major trading partner for both countries. Tanzania exported about US$120 million worth of goods to China in September 2025 and imported roughly US$862 million from China, generating a trade deficit of about US$742 million. In 2024, China’s imports from Tanzania were estimated at US$704 million. For Zambia, reports indicate that raw copper and other primary resources dominate its exports to China, while Chinese manufactured goods flow into Zambia.
Analysts say the railway upgrade will complement the trade flows by reducing transport costs, accelerating mineral shipments to China and enabling increased Chinese-fuelled imports into Zambia. It also signals Beijing’s growing emphasis on infrastructure-linked investment as part of its Africa strategy. As the railway project moves ahead, both the Tanzanian and Zambian governments expect the partnership to enhance export capacity, attract Chinese financing and reposition their countries as connectivity hubs for East and Central Africa.
