Lincoln Towindo in HANGZHOU, China
ZIMBABWE has secured firm commitments from major Chinese enterprises to partner the country in the beneficiation and value addition of its mineral resources, with the full success of a high-level investment mission to China set to be measured by the implementation of projects on the ground, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
Speaking at the conclusion of his working visit to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, yesterday, Dr Chiwenga said the engagements with Chinese companies, spanning the mining, energy, technology and manufacturing sectors, had been productive, while stressing that promises alone would not constitute success.
“We will see the full success of the mission when the programme starts taking shape and we begin to see projects being implemented,” he said.
“But having said that, we believe we had successful discussions with all the major companies that we met.”
The mission’s central mandate, the Vice President said, was to ensure that investment in Zimbabwe transformed the country’s mineral wealth within its borders and did not merely extract raw resources.
“The focus is on implementing the programme that the Government of Zimbabwe wants to see take place, that is, the beneficiation of our God-given mineral resources; value addition through manufacturing, which leads to what can be described as the industrialisation of Zimbabwe,” he said.
During the visit, Dr Chiwenga announced that the Government would no longer approve isolated, single-mineral mining operations, insisting instead on integrated investments capable of identifying, separating and processing multiple minerals at source.
He toured Huayou Cobalt, which has invested more than US$700 million in its Arcadia lithium mine in Goromonzi, including a concentrator and a lithium sulphate plant that began production this year. He also visited Chilwee, China’s largest battery manufacturer, which he encouraged to establish production facilities in Zimbabwe, where the raw materials required for battery manufacturing are already mined.
The Vice President also toured Alibaba, met leaders of construction machinery giant Sany Group and railway builder China Railway 25th Bureau Group, and visited the Hangzhou City Brain artificial intelligence command centre.
He also officiated at the Zimbabwe-China Business Forum, which was attended by leading Chinese investors.
Dr Chiwenga said the mission was giving practical effect to agreements already reached by the leadership of the two countries.
“This visit to Zhejiang Province, which is one of the economic powerhouses of China, has given us the opportunity to meet face to face and advance Zimbabwe’s vision through implementation, as already agreed by our two leaders, President Mnangagwa and President Xi Jinping, and through resolutions adopted by the two countries during the Joint Permanent Commission held in Harare,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China, Mrs Abigail Shoniwa, confirmed that Chinese enterprises had already begun responding positively to the investment invitation.
She, however, said follow-up engagements would determine the mission’s ultimate success.
“The message brought by the Vice President was that Zimbabwe is looking for investment, but also for investors who can partner with us in value addition and industrialisation. That was the critical message of this mission and we are very pleased that it has been heard, judging by the feedback that has already been received,” she said.
“The agenda has been set and there is a lot of work ahead. What is critical now is following up on what has been discussed.”
Mrs Shoniwa said energy featured prominently in the engagements, with a number of companies expressing strong interest in new energy projects.
She said such partnerships were indispensable because industrialisation could not be achieved without adequate energy supplies.
“We cannot talk about industrialisation without energy,” she said.
She added that the delegation had drawn important lessons from China’s technological advances, including the Hangzhou City Brain platform, which uses artificial intelligence to manage transport systems, hospitals and municipal services.
She said such experiences would help inform the development of Zimbabwe’s planned smart cities.
“My assessment is that we will have quite a number of investors coming to Zimbabwe in response to the invitation to invest,” she said.
Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Willard Manungo, said the mission was anchored on Zimbabwe’s development agenda of growing the economy and raising incomes.
“Our vision is to grow the economic cake and improve the incomes of the average Zimbabwean. To achieve that, we need economic transformation,” he said.
“The Vice President’s visit is intended to entrench the industrialisation agenda by working with Chinese enterprises, both those already operating in Zimbabwe and those yet to enter the market, and encouraging them to invest. It is a win-win arrangement for both Zimbabwe and China. A transformed Zimbabwe brings greater value to the partnership, meaning we all benefit.”
The working visit began in Beijing with bilateral meetings and tours of various industries before moving to Zhejiang Province, one of China’s leading industrial centres.
The province is home to global companies such as Alibaba and Huayou Cobalt.
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