His Excellency Gao Wenqi, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda (middle), Minister Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms.Lin Hang (left) and Economic and Commercial Counselor Gao Zhiqiang (right). Photo: Mike @Africa-China Review.

By Gerald Mbanda

The Chinese embassy in Rwanda held a symposium on Tuesday to mark 55 years of diplomatic relations between China and Rwanda. Participants who included representatives from Universities, Think Tanks and Media commended the pragmatic and fruitful cooperation that has flourished between China and Rwanda for more than five decades. 

The Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda His ExcellencyGao Wenqi accompanied by embassy diplomats explained in detail the excellent diplomatic relations between Rwanda and China since 1971. Among the big projects carried out in recent years, Ambassador Gaomentioned included the Nyabarongo II Hydro Power Project, which once completed will boost Rwanda’s overall power supply capacity alleviating the current power shortage while at the same time providing clean energy, as envisioned in Rwanda’s Vision 2050.

The Chinese government has also supported Rwanda to renovate and expand Masaka hospital to improve medical services by providing safer and high quality health care. The hospital is an 837-bed state-of the- art facility also to house The Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK). Chinese medical doctors and nurses are deployed in the hospital working hand in hand with their Rwandan counterparts. 

In 2006, China- Rwanda Agricultural Demonstration Centre was launched to boost agricultural production, fight malnutrition and improve food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas. Many Rwandans now have acquired the technical knowledge to grow mushrooms using Juncao methods after being taught by Chinese experts.  Local people tell inspiring stories of self-reliance and being able to feed their families and have savings as well out of the income earned from selling mushrooms. 

Ambassador Gao noted that China and Rwanda place great importance on investment in education. He shared the words of Presidents Xi Jinping and PaulKagame on education, where President Xi said that “Education is the foundation of national rejuvenation and social progress, while president Kagame said, “Education is about dignity, and is the key to Rwanda’ s future.”

Since 1983, China has been providing government scholarships to Rwandan students, a tradition spanning over four decades. In the last 26 years, over 400 attended short courses and workshops, and offered scholarships to about 110 students. Cooperation in vocational education has also yielded fruitful results.The Luban workshop at IPRC Musanze, jointly established by Rwanda Polytechnic and JinhuaPolytechnic of China, offers two majors in E-commerce and Electrical Automation - and has provided vocational skills training to nearly 10,000people both online and offline.

Since 2025, China is supporting Early Childhood program (ECD) in Rwanda. The program has been rolled out in 11 districts and benefits over 2,100 children. Several other cooperation projects like in Artificial Intelligence have also been implemented. The partnership between Confucius Institute and the University of Rwanda promotes people to people exchanges and cultural understanding. The Institute teaches Chinese language and provides instructors to teach Chinese martial Arts. Since 2019, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) introducedKinyarwanda language courses within its School of African Studies. This exchange promotes bilateral relations and civilization understanding.

China is Rwanda’s number one trading partner and bilateral trade between the two countries reached nearly $849 million in 2025, marking a significant 27% increase over the previous year. Rwandan products entering China range from coffee and tea to chilli plusother non-resource goods, all benefiting from China’s zero-tariff policy for least developed countries. China is also the leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Rwanda, with investments heavily targeting manufacturing, infrastructure, and mining, reaching a registered value of US$182.4 million in 2024.

Gerald Mbanda is a researcher and publisher on China-Africa Cooperation and development.