Zim, China to upscale cooperation: President

Wallace Ruzvidzo

Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe and China share a long-standing relationship in all spheres, including the political, economic and social sectors and the two countries will continue bolstering them, President Mnangagwa has said.

He made the remarks yesterday while leaving for a State visit to China which will be followed by his attendance at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Speaking to the media at State House in Harare before his departure, the President said Harare and Beijing were unstoppable all-weather friends whose bond had been established decades ago.

The President recounted how he, on a personal level, had a close affinity for the country having received military training there in the early 1960s when the struggle for Zimbabwe’s independence was in its infancy.

“Relations between Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China are rooted in our historical past, in particular our liberation struggle. For your own information, I trained in China in 1963 and 1964. That is where we began our political relations which have continued to deepen and concretise through to now.

“We have harnessed political, economic, social and all spheres of cooperation between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the People’s Republic of China,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said he would brief the nation on his visit once he got back, but overall, Zimbabwe would be looking to derive benefits from participating at this year’s edition of FOCAC.

“First, I will tell the nation that I was well received, secondly, I will brief the nation on what I would have discussed with my counterpart President Xi Jinping; that which is possible for me to brief the nation because some issues remain issues between Heads of State.

“FOCAC is not directly focused on Zimbabwe, it is global. Zimbabwe will find what it will benefit from FOCAC, which is a global forum,” he said.

Zimbabwe and China enjoy cordial bilateral and political relations which have since been elevated to a strategic partnership over the years. FOCAC is the primary multi-lateral coordination mechanism between China and African countries and since 2018, it is seen as a co-operation platform within the Belt and Road Initiative.

President Mnangagwa was seen off at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, Cabinet Ministers, Service Chiefs and senior Government officials.