Tanzania, April 6 -- Yaounde. As Tanzania pushes to industrialise and expand exports, China is signalling a shift in how it wants to engage with Africa-placing less emphasis on traditional infrastructure deals and more on production, market access and integration into global value chains.

Speaking during the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization(WTO) last week, head of the permanent mission of China to the WTO, Li Yongjie, outlined a strategy that aligns with Africa's broader ambition to move beyond raw commodity exports.

At the centre of China's approach is a stronger push to support industrialisation across the continent.

"We also encourage Chinese companies to invest in sectors such as agricultural proce...