China is a friend indeed

HISTORY will show that the people of China stood by us even in the most difficult and trying of times.

In the 1960s, when brave men and women took the decision to wage an armed struggle against the oppressive and racist white minority system, China readily undertook to train them and provide the much-needed moral, logistical and political support to prosecute the war.

Incidentally, President Mnangagwa was among the first group of cadres to benefit from this magnanimous gesture.

Throughout the liberation struggle, from 1966 to 1980, our friends never wavered; they continued to provide unequivocal support.

It is, therefore, not surprising that the teachings of Mao Zedong, or Chairman Mao, were integral to the political and ideological orientation of freedom fighters, helping to shape principles that are considered indispensable in our military, even today.

Our relations further deepened with the establishment of diplomatic relations in April 1980, when we gained our independence.

The Land Reform Programme at the turn of the millennium opened a new chapter as the West pushed to isolate Zimbabwe.

Notably, on July 10, 2008, it was China, together with Russia, that vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution seeking to impose sanctions on Harare.

Had the United States-drafted resolution been successful, it could have been catastrophic and might have changed the course of Zimbabwe’s history.

But the advent of the Second Republic added a new dimension to ties between Harare and Beijing as they became decidedly economic.

It was President Mnangagwa’s State visit to China in April 2018 — his first outside Africa after assuming power in November the previous year — that took the friendship between the two countries to another level, especially after the agreement to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, which represents the highest level of diplomatic engagement.

It unlocked a lot of opportunities for Zimbabwe, including a US$140 million grant for the construction of a magnificent new Parliament building in Mt Hampden, which recently hosted the 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit.

It also unlocked the US$1,3 billion facility used in the construction of two new units at the Hwange Power Station, whose 600 megawatts are now helping to anchor power supplies at a time when generation has precipitously plummeted at Kariba.

We should not forget that funding for the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport expansion project, and construction of a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical warehouse and Kunzvi Dam, among many other transformative developmental projects, were largely the manifestation of this time-tested relationship with China.

Further, at a time when Western investors have decided to sit on the fence, investors from the world’s second-largest economy have opened their wallets in a big way, sinking close to US$1 billion in new mining projects, particularly in the lithium sector, among others.

So, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

And, as President Mnangagwa is about to begin his State visit this week, which will culminate in his attendance of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (September 4 to 6), we have all the more reason to be expectant and hopeful.

“In 1963 and 1964, we trained here to fight the British.

“These are our solid friends, and I am happy that up to today we relate, and you, the younger generation, must make sure you consolidate the strong relations,” President Mnangagwa said after touring Chinese electric car manufacturing company Build Your Dreams (BYD) and global telecommunications giant Huawei in China’s technology hub of Shenzhen on Friday.

“Each time we pay a visit to the People’s Republic of China, and in particular on both visits, I have been given an opportunity to visit Huawei, and each time you find out that they have moved on; it does seem that technology evolves year after year. I hope that our people in Zimbabwe will embrace the technology that we have been exposed to.”

This highlights how Zimbabwe is increasingly pivoting on science and technology to drive its modernisation and industrialisation agenda.

While production and economic output have been rising in Zimbabwe, we continue to struggle to increase productivity and efficiencies in our industrial processes, as well as value adding and beneficiating our minerals, with the unfortunate result that most of our exports are either raw or semi-processed.

This is where China, which has been leading the world in registering new patents and new innovations, can assist.

We really need to redouble our focus on projects such as the US$13 billion Mapinga Mines-to-Energy Industrial Park, which have immense potential to create jobs, grow the economy and facilitate the realisation of an upper middle-income economy.

So, this week could mark the beginning of yet another exciting chapter in Zimbabwe’s journey to prosperity.