China-Zimbabwe ties withstand transition of political power: analysts

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries.

The two heads of state reached the consensus during talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Mnangagwa is on a state visit to China from Monday to Friday at the invitation of Xi, and this is Mnangagwa’s first state visit outside Africa as Zimbabwean president since taking office last November.

Mnangagwa delivered a speech in Beijing on Tuesday, saying that after the peaceful transition of the government, his country will bid farewell to isolation.

Zimbabwe is opening its door to other countries’ companies and investments, and the country is looking forward to strengthening economic and trade ties with China, he said.

Mnangagwa’s speech was made at a Sino-Zimbabwean business forum held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which was attended by senior officials of Zimbabwe and more than 100 business figures from China and Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa took office in November after ending predecessor Robert Mugabe’s 37-year governance of the country.

“Mnangagwa’s visit proves that the Sino-Zimbabwean relationship has not been impacted by the political power transition,” Shen Xiaolei, an associate research fellow at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

“Mnangagwa has a deep relationship with China. Apart from inviting China’s investment, he is also interested in learning about China’s experience of governance, reform and opening-up,” he said.

The West remains distant from Mnangagwa’s administration, Shen noted, and China is still the most important partner Zimbabwe can trust.

Mnangagwa said Saturday before his visit that Zimbabwe is seeking deeper economic ties with China to help its economy leapfrog forward after years of Western sanctions, Xinhua reported.