The fact that Mr. Xi brought with him a “strong” business delegation, some say it is a sign that China is serious about helping revive Zimbabwe’s economy. Military helicopters also hovered in the sky. Among the thousands that lined Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Express Way leading to the Harare International Airport were hundreds of Chinese nationals resident in Zimbabwe.
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“China has been watching Zimbabwe”.
Hundreds of supporters of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party gathered on the tarmac to sing revolutionary songs in praise of both Mugabe and Xi.
The president arrived on an Air China jet with wife Peng Liyuan and an entourage of journalists and officials.
Xi travels to South Africa where he will be from Wednesday through Saturday on his second state visit to that country. “They know the Mugabe-led regime does absolutely nothing about corruption”, Gutu said.
Scholars spoke highly of China-Africa relations at the China-Africa Relations Roundtable held in Johannesburg on Tuesday. We thank you in advance.
This year President Xi announced US$ 100 million of free Chinese military aid to the AU to support the building of the African Standby Force and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis, which are tasked with maintaining stability on the continent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (picture) began a five-day African visit yesterday, which he would use to showcase China’s expanding role as a protector of regional security as well as a provider of infrastructure and consumer of resources. One such event was a round-table meeting, jointly hosted by Independent Media and China Public Diplomacy Association.
The airport road was lined with Chinese and Zimbabweans waiting to glimpse the visitors. The quantity of products including crude oil, manganese, copper, cobalt ore and other energy and resource products that China imports from Africa hasn’t declined, he said.
But thermal power stations are not only the most expensive to build, they also pollute the environment.
He said that the latest introduced China International Payment System (CIPS) will help Zimbabwe to circumvent USA financial sanctions.
Li Anshan, director of Peking University’s Center for African Studies, says the rapid development of China-Africa relations benefits all sides. These include deepening cooperation in the areas of infrastructure development, debt relief, industrialization, investment promotion, market access expansion, agriculture, science and technology, health, education, and people-to-people cultural exchanges, among others. We have also benefitted in the tobacco sector which has been revived with over 800million going into Zimbabwe pockets.
“The visit by President Xi is significant in terms of the economic recovery”.
Mr Xi must also protect an estimated two million Chinese working in some of Africa’s most unstable areas – a concern highlighted by a recent attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, that left at least 20 people dead.
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“We should never forget the exploits of our national heroes”.
