Local residents watch a train pass by on the Qinghai-Xizang Railway in Damxung County, Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, on 28 May (XINHUA) 

Against the backdrop of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, where snow-capped peaks meet one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements, railway professionals from across Africa gathered in June for more than a ceremonial visit. They were there to study a railway, exchange ideas and see where China-Africa cooperation is headed. 

The African Railway Talent Qinghai-Xizang Tour, held from 22 to 25 June in Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, brought together engineers, officials, diplomats and journalists from Ethiopia, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo and other African countries. Organised under the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, the programme combined technical visits, symposiums and a journey aboard the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, the world’s highest plateau railway. 

Beneath the talk of tunnels, bridges and locomotives lay a broader message. Decades into their infrastructure partnership, China and Africa are entering a new phase, one defined less by building railways than by cultivating the expertise to run, maintain and improve them. 

Viewed as one of the most ambitious railway projects ever undertaken, the Qinghai-Xizang Railway stretches nearly 2,000 km across permafrost at elevations above 4,000 metres. Since opening in 2006, it has reshaped transport across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau by overcoming engineering challenges once thought insurmountable. For African delegates, it stood as proof that infrastructure, paired with long-term planning and innovation, can reshape regional economies and expand development opportunities. 

Opening the event, Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, called railways “arteries of economic circulation” and lasting symbols of China-Africa friendship. He noted that 2026 marks both the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Africa diplomatic relations and the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, framing the gathering as an opportunity to deepen cooperation through knowledge sharing and human capital development. “Our partnership boasts a remarkable half-century of extraordinary progress,” he said, pointing to landmark projects including the TAZARA Railway, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway and Nigeria’s Abuja-Kaduna Railway. 

Beyond the tracks 

A recurring theme throughout the symposium was that China-Africa railway cooperation is no longer measured only in kilometres of track laid or the number of stations built. Increasingly, the focus is shifting to technology transfer, operational excellence and local capacity building. Chinese officials argued that sustainable railway development depends on skilled engineers, technicians, planners and operators who can run complex transport systems independently. Yang said China intends to strengthen partnerships among railway companies, universities, vocational institutions and research centres to expand technical training, joint research and professional exchanges with African countries. 

Hu Changchun, China’s special envoy for the Horn of African Affairs, echoed the point, noting that successful railway cooperation extends well beyond engineering. “Behind these cooperative achievements lies the sustained empowerment of talent exchanges,” he said, citing years of technical training and joint seminars that have produced thousands of local railway professionals across partner countries. 

Ethiopia’s experience featured prominently in the discussions. Ethiopian Ambassador to China Tefera Derbew Yimam described the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, Africa’s first fully electrified cross-border railway built to Chinese standards, as a project that reduced the freight journey to Djibouti’s ports from several days by road to just over 10 hours by rail, creating an economic corridor and thousands of skilled jobs. 

He drew a parallel with the Qinghai-Xizang Railway: “From the Roof of Africa to the Roof of the World, our two railways echo each other.” Engineering innovations developed on the plateau, including permafrost stabilisation and environmentally sensitive construction methods, could offer valuable lessons for railway projects in Africa’s highland regions, he said. “A railway is not merely tracks and sleepers,” he said. “It is a bond of friendship and a bridge for dreams.” 

African railway professionals visit a coach maintenance workshop of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway in Xining, Qinghai Province, on 25 June (XINHUA) 

TAZARA’s next chapter 

For Zambia, the discussion focused on one of the most enduring symbols of China-Africa friendship: the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, or TAZARA. Nkumbu Siame, director of transport at Zambia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics, called 2026 a milestone year, marking both the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and the 50th anniversary of TAZARA’s commissioning. 

Built in the 1970s with Chinese assistance, the railway has long connected Zambia’s Copperbelt to the Port of Dar es Salaam and remains a defining example of Africa’s early large-scale infrastructure cooperation with China. Following the launch of the TAZARA Revitalisation Project, Zambia expects the modernisation programme to improve railway efficiency, strengthen regional trade and reinforce economic integration across Southern Africa. 

Much of the learning came through observation rather than speeches. Delegates toured operations centres, maintenance facilities and technology demonstration sites, seeing firsthand the digital monitoring systems, signalling technology and control platforms that underpin China’s rail network. For Cuthbert Malindi, managing director of Zambia Railways Limited, the visit underscored the value of operational knowledge over equipment alone. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel,” he said, arguing that Africa’s opportunity lies in understanding the systems and management practices that keep modern railways running effectively. 

His remarks reflected a broader consensus: infrastructure alone is not enough. Railways need people capable of running them long after the construction crews have left. As delegates crossed the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau by train, they were studying more than an engineering achievement. They were seeing a model of cooperation that China hopes will define the next era of its partnership with Africa, one in which steel tracks are matched by the transfer of skills, technology and opportunity.