On July 17, 2018, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a conference in Tanzania with the leaders of African political parties to explore issues including peace and development. This African conference was part of the CPC’s overall “Dialogue with World Political Parties” as organized by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. It is also the first time the CPC held a high-level meeting outside China. 

Tanzanian President John Magufuli, in his opening for the conference, thanked China for the dialogue, describing it as a path toward peace, security and economic growth in Africa. "Political parties play a critical role in the economic development of any country. They are the voices of the citizens. I'm confident that the outcomes of the conference will not only enhance the relationship between African countries' political parties and the CPC but will also see deliberations on how Africa can attain sustainable economic growth," he said. 

The president also said Africa will achieve more economic growth when its nations opt to work together. 

Song Tao, head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, said that the meeting with African political parties was by no means a move to "export" the Chinese model.

"As was pointed out by CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping, the key to the choice of path lies in the compatibility with specific national conditions. Since the socialist path with Chinese characteristics is based on China's basic realities, rooted in China's 5,000 years of civilization and has grown out of the summarization of experience in 170-plus years of modern China and nearly 70 years of New China, and been tested in the 40 years since reform and opening-up were established, it can effectively address China's problems of historic magnitude," Song said.

To enhance communications with people from different countries, China has developed several parallel tracks, and one that is perhaps unique to China is party-to-party diplomacy. In December 2017, the Communist Party of China, the CPC, held a high-level meeting with global political parties of all kinds, sharing experiences and lessons with foreign counterparts. Although, the CPC has long worked with parties from different countries, in the past it was largely with other communist and socialist parties.