Xi's Zimbabwe visit to elevate bilateral ties to new high

HARARE -- Over the decades since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, bilateral relations with China have been stable and friendly, observers say, and the upcoming state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping is undoubtedly going to elevate the tie to a new high.

Nhamo Mhiripiri, a professor at the Midlands State University, said China and Zimbabwe have longstanding ties that cannot easily fall away.

"The new millennium has seen economic relations between China and Zimbabwe growing," he said, "It's impossible for the Chinese president at any given time to visit all African countries at the same time. He has to make strategic visits that are manageable."

Charity Manyeruke, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Zimbabwe, said Xi's visit was testimony of the unflinching ties between the two countries.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe paid a state visit to China last year and his Chinese counterpart was set to reciprocate by visiting Zimbabwe and that was very important, Manyeruke said.

Speaking to reporters prior to Xi's visit, Mugabe has said he is elated to host "the greatest friend we have in the international community."

"We await the visit with very great interest, and we shall be discussing some of the projects and programs of cooperation," he said.

During Mugabe's China visit, the two countries signed a number of deals that will see Beijing provide financial and technical assistance for Zimbabwe's infrastructure development in the areas of telecommunications, energy and agriculture.

"For the president of China to choose to come to Zimbabwe, it's a mark, a big statement that Zimbabwe will benefit from economic and trading relations," Manyeruke said.

She said the visit was also significant not only for Zimbabwe but for Africa as a whole since Mugabe is the chairman of the African Union, a continental bloc of 53 African nations.

In 2002, Zimbabwe was the first among African countries to officially adopt a "Look East" policy, aiming to shift the economic cooperation paradigm from a partnership with traditional Western donors to emerging Asian powers including China.

In recent years, China has emerged as Zimbabwe's biggest investor and an important trading partner. Trade between China and Zimbabwe grew by 22 percent every year on average between 2010 to 2014.

Chinese direct investment in Zimbabwe hit 600 million U.S. dollars in 2013, surpassing any other African country in terms of attracting Chinese investment that year. Chinese banks have also provided loans amounting to 1.5 billion dollars to Zimbabwe in recent years, Chinese government figures show.

Simon Khaya Moyo, Zimbabwean minister of policy coordination and promotion of socioeconomic ventures in the president's office, said China has made "huge" contributions to Zimbabwe's economy.

He said it is thus important to carry on this tie to the future because of China's economic status in the world.

Despite a slower growth this year, China remains a major world economic powerhouse as the Chinese economy contributes 30 percent to the world economic growth.

The Communist Party of China has recently made a proposal on China' s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) for national socioeconomic development, with the development concept of "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development."

The plan lays down the guidelines China will follow in the next five years. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said it offers opportunities to China-Africa win-win cooperation as Africa has set accelerated industrialization and sustainable development as primary goals in its first-decade plan.

Fay Chung, a prominent African-Chinese who has been studying China-Africa relations after her retirement from Zimbabwean cabinet ministerial posts, said she noticed China-Africa economic cooperation emphasis is now placed on "industrial cooperation," a development that has the potential to bring opportunities for the continent which went through de-industrialization in the 1990s.

In Zimbabwe, the current depressed economic environment takes its toll on the country's already weak industries. According to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, about 4,600 companies closed down between 2011 and October 2014 while capacity utilization is at 34 percent.

Chung said financial partnerships, technological support and partnerships with indigenous companies would enable the Zimbabwean economy to progress beyond being a mere primary production economy and become a producer of finished products.

She said this development would entail a bigger market for Chinese goods, which however will now be manufactured here in Africa while at the same time providing opportunities for Zimbabwean industrialists to benefit from China's development experience.

"Such partnerships will also bring about an increase of both agricultural and industrial employment, very much needed in Africa which is under-industrialized with high levels of unemployment," she added.