ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 examines Tanzania, whose elites had already been socialized by communist China during the Cold War. After a period of neglect, the Chinese ‘re-entry into Africa’ led to the development of an impressive partnership after 2005. In addition to a typical ‘aid for resources’ deal, Beijing invested in the manufacturing sector and launched major infrastructure projects that would grant it access to neighboring landlocked countries and an increased naval presence in the Indian Ocean. But the socialization of Tanzanian elites led to negative economic, social, and governance consequences. Frustration within the society made members of the political elites question the relationship and, occasionally, infringe some of the Chinese norms, which shows the limits of their Type I, role playing socialization. After his coming to power in 2015, President Magufuli adopted an ambiguous attitude that combines overtly anti-Chinese measures with the willingness to enhance bilateral economic cooperation. This is mainly due to his personality traits and voluntaristic style of leadership that ignores previous national policies and commitments in favor of unpredictable moves he believes to be more effective. However, his authoritarian trends brought Western hostility, which allowed China to attempt to relaunch the socialization process.
