Logic behind China-Zim co-operation

BELOW is the speech delivered by the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun (pictured) at the inaugural Zimbabwe Annual Investment Forum organised by the Zimbabwe Independent, in partnership with PiggyBankAdvisor.

It is my great pleasure to attend the Zimbabwe Annual Investment Forum and I would like to start by thanking the organisers for their gracious invitation.

“Sustainable” is the key word of the theme of today’s forum and is highly consistent with the logic and practice of China-Zimbabwe co-operation. I would like to take this opportunity to share my opinions about “The Logic of China-Zimbabwe Co-operation”.

As the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, I have always been asked by Zimbabwean friends, “Why would China like to support Zimbabwe even though the two countries are geographically far away from each other?”

History and reality can give the best answer. China and Zimbabwe have always been partners with a shared future in weal and woe.

We have both suffered from imperialism and colonialism for a long time; both struggled hard for independence, liberation and prosperity of our own countries. Shared experiences, historic mission and common ideals have brought us close together.

In the past 42 years, following the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and with concrete actions, China has been supporting Zimbabwe to realise its national development, overcome the negative impacts of illegal sanctions and stay interacting with the global economy.

Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa, China and Zimbabwe have enjoyed ever-growing excellent relations and sound bilateral co-operation across the board.

On intergovernmental co-operation, by providing various assistance and support, China has been helping Zimbabwe improve its infrastructures, which are urgently needed for promoting economic development and people’s livelihood.

The well-known National Pharmaceutical Warehouse, the 1 000 borehole project, the New Parliament Building, donation of 12 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the High-Performance Computing Centre and Chinese medical team, are all implemented with China aid.

The Kariba South Hydro Power Station Expansion, Hwange Thermal Power Station Expansion, Victoria Falls International Airport Upgrading, Expansion and Upgrading of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and NetOne broadband construction, are supported by China’s concessional loans.

The Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Zimbabwean Fresh Citrus to China signed last year is one of the policy supports by China in promoting export of Zimbabwe’s agricultural products.

It aims to establish “green lanes” for Zimbabwean agricultural products into the Chinese market, marking a breakthrough of China’s policy supports in helping Zimbabwe’s economic development.

We encourage more well-established and capable Chinese companies to invest in Zimbabwe. We are glad to see that the Chinese private investments are becoming the vital forces to promote Zimbabwe’s economy.

The construction of Dinson Iron and Steel Company invested by China’s Tsingshan Corporation is well on track. Through open bidding on the international market, some Chinese large enterprises have invested in local lithium mines and are revitalizing the resources that were long idled by western companies.

Many Chinese enterprises have also invested in other sectors such as tobacco planting and export, crop farming, building materials manufacturing, and freight logistics.

These investments introduce Zimbabwe’s high-quality products into international markets, bring Zimbabwe considerable forex earnings and tax revenues, tens of thousands of job opportunities and technology transfers and promote Zimbabwe’s competitiveness in the global economy.

With the concerted efforts of the governments and enterprises, the trade between China and Zimbabwe has kept growing.

In the first half of this year, the bilateral trade volume reached US$973 million with an increase of 57%, of which China imported US$504 million from Zimbabwe and exported US$469 million to Zimbabwe, up 103% and 26% respectively. In view of the global economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a great achievement which is significant to maintain Zimbabwe’s economic vitality.

"How is the sustainability of China-Zimbabwe co-operation?” This might be an issue that you would care about and is also closely related to the theme of this forum.

Over the years, China has been working closely with Africa, exploring a distinctive new path to win-win co-operation in the new era and forming the China-Africa co-operation pattern which is unique, welcomed by Africa and stands the test of history. The sustainability of China-Africa co-operation could be summarised in three aspects.

First, it focuses on development. Since the beginning of the 21st Century, China has actively supported Africa’s economic development and provided Africa with new financing channels to help Africa build capacity for self-generated development. As Africa’s reliable partner, China always respects the wishes of the African people.

Our financing to Africa mainly focuses on infrastructure and manufacturing-related sectors so as to meet the region's real needs.

To date, by putting various funds to use, Chinese companies have helped African countries build and upgrade over 10 000 kilometres of railway, around 100 000 kilometres of highway, around 1 000 bridges and 100 ports and many large-scale power plants, hospitals and schools.

Such financing support has boosted economic growth, increased tax revenues, created jobs and improved people’s lives in African countries, including Zimbabwe, bringing tangible benefits to African people.

The China-financed projects currently under construction in Zimbabwe covering electricity generation, airports and communication facilities are all focusing on areas most in need of development. We hope other countries, especially those with capabilities, could do more to help improve Zimbabwe’s infrastructure.

Second, it adheres to recipient-driven approaches and the principles of openness and transparency. Frankly speaking, there

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