Did China know of Zimbabwe’s military takeover in advance?

A visit to China by the Zimbabwe Army chief days beforethemilitaryseizedcontrol and placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest has raisedeyebrowsandledtospeculation that GenConstantinoChiwengamayhavesoughtBeijing’s tacit approval for his move.

China is Zimbabwe’s largest foreign investor and has had a presenceinthecountrysincethe 1970s, when it secretly supplied ammunition and funds to Mugabe’s guerrilla force during the war of independence.

Chiwenga, seen as an ally of oustedvicepresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa — sacked by Mugabetostrengthenthehandsofhis wife—heldmeetingswithLiZuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff DepartmentofthePeople’sLiberationArmy,anddefenceminister Gen Chang Wanquan.

According to a defence ministry report, Li told Chiwenga: “China and Zimbabwe are allweatherfriends.”Chiwengasaid Zimbabwewaswillingtodeepen exchangesandcooperationinall fields to promote bilateral state and military relations.

Someexpertshavecontended

MISCONDUCT

thatChiwengamayhavewanted toensurethatpoliticalchangesin Zimbabwewouldnotaffectbilateral ties because of China’s longstanding support for Mugabe.

China has pumped billions of dollars into Zimbabwe in exchangeforunfetteredaccessto natural resources. In 2015 alone, China pumped in over $450 millioninZimbabwe,morethanhalf of the total foreign investments.

China’s foreign ministry has played down the significance of Chiwenga’s visit, saying it was part of the “normal military-tomilitary” exchanges. HTC

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