This is Xi’s first visit to the African country and also the first state visit by a Chinese president to Zimbabwe since 1996.
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The people of Zimbabwe are now rejoicing over Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit, branding him a “savior” who will save the country’s faltering economy by bringing in million of dollars in investments.
The two leaders held talks and oversaw the signing by their ministers of 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding covering energy, aviation, telecommunications and investment promotion deals to shore up Zimbabwe’s economy, which has fallen into dire straits under Mugabe’s rule.
Another important agenda during Xi’s stay in South Africa is to co-chair with President Jacob Zuma the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
But China’s Commerce Ministry recently admitted that Chinese investments to Africa had fallen by 40 percent in the first half of this year – a move that some analysts attributed to China’s slowing economy.
The Chinese leader was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and a delegation of about 200 people, among them ministers, Communist Party of China officials and business executives.
Mugabe looked sharp as he welcomed Xi at the Harare International Airport shortly after 10am yesterday.
“China’s packages towards Africa are going to be more diversified”, said Yun Sun, China expert at the US-based Brookings research organisation. In addition to China’s mining interests in cash-strapped Zimbabwe, the 12 agreements cover industries such as power and transport, and prevent double taxation for investors, according to the Herald, a state-owned Zimbabwean newspaper.
Chinese ambassador to Harare Huang Ping said that China is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign investor, pumping in $600 million in 2013. Africa has become China’s second-biggest overseas market for contracted engineering services, Qian said. “We agree that both countries should make full use of this, to translate our friendship into concrete impetus for mutual benefit”, said Xi.
While on his African trip, Xi is also expected to showcase China’s expanding role as a protector of regional security. And there is far less investment from Beijing into Zimbabwe than into any of its neighbours, such as Zambia, Mozambique and Angola.
“China-South Africa relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope and gained growing strategic significance and global impact”, Xi said.
Xi is expected to attend a state banquet hosted by Mugabe and also visit the Heroes Acre memorial site that honours Zimbabwe’s war dead.
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“As all of us know, we have had a long relationship with the People’s Republic of China, dating back to the pre-independence days, but the relationship has largely been diplomatic and political”.
