Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in South Africa on Wednesday for talks with President Jacob Zuma that are expected to focus on flagging investment and trade worth around $20 billion a year.
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The two nations had a “deep and firm” friendship, Mr Xi said in an article in Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper.
The International Cooperation Centre – National Development Reform Commission of China’s director general Cao Wenlian on Monday told a China-Zimbabwe Business Forum that it was considering putting Zimbabwe on priority list of African countries that Beijing targets for investment, alongside Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa.
Xi’s visit will raise the profile of Zimbabwe as a safe destination for Chinese investment and tourists, she said. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has said investment in Africa fell by more than 40 per cent in the first half of this year.
China’s Import and Export Bank is expected to loan the capital city of Harare more than $1 billion to fund the 600 megawatt expansion of Hwange coal power station, Reuters reported officials saying.
Today China is Zimbabwe’s top source of foreign investment and has helped the country with a number of infrastructure projects.
China and South Africa should strengthen partnership in various aspects, Xi noted, calling on the two countries to be forward-looking strategic partners with strong mutual trust, development partners pursuing equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, friendly partners who understand and learn from each other, and global partners who support and coordinate closely with each other.
United States denies Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s charges that sanctions have been responsible for his country’s economic woes.
(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi). Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe hold hands upon his arrival in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Speakers at the round-table included: Zhang Ming, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, China Nomaindia Mfeketo, Dep. Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa; Dr Iqbal Survé, Executive Chairman of Independent Media; Zhong Jianhua, Special Representative on African Affairs, Government of China; Gong Jianzhong, Vice President of the China Public Diplomacy Association, and Dr Yutong Liu, Secretary General of the China Public Diplomacy Association.
The two-day summit of the political leadership of Africa and China will deal with the theme “China-Africa Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development”.
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“There are also three other power projects which are going to be funded by the Chinese and these are private sector-driven; they’re Makomo Resources, China Sunlight and Lusulu – each of them adding 600MW to the grid. This agreement has provided a vital guidance for the growth of China-Zimbabwe relations”.
