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Welcoming about 20 journalists from Zimbabwe here yesterday, the director of the Training Centre of Information Office of the State Council of China, Mr Hu Weiping, said Zimbabwe was China’s old time friend dating back to the days of the liberation struggle.
He said his country identifies itself closely with developing countries such as Zimbabwe and urged the media to promote such developments.
The Zimbabwean journalists drawn from the public and private media are attending a two-week training seminar.
“China is committed to working with Zimbabwe to bring about economic development in the country. We are working towards strengthening our friendship and cooperation with developing countries as well as promoting more exchange visits between our people. The media also has a responsibility to promote such developments,” said Mr Hu.
“China-Africa relations are growing quickly and in the past few years have witnessed an increase in exchange visits at government, private sector and individual levels. The China-Africa cooperation is indeed bearing fruit. Despite the global financial crisis, as of April this year China has availed about $15,3 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Africa.”
Mr Hu said China supports Africa’s quest for total independence and self-determination in the governance of its countries.
“In global and regional affairs China stands with developing countries’ desire for dignity, sovereignty and economic development. Every year we have about 5 000 scholarships for African students. We are also working on promoting cultural exchanges,” he said.
“China is Zimbabwe’s trade partner and provides aid to Zimbabwe in construction projects, public health and education. About 90 Zimbabwean students are studying in China and 57 have graduated.
Zimbabwe has become a direct destination for Chinese tourists. Our government has also sent 12 medical teams to assist the health sector in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Hu.
He said meaningful development was closely knit with political and cultural developments and urged the media to report responsibly to safeguard and promote national interests.
Speaking at the same occasion, the leader of the media team from Zimbabwe, Christopher Chivinge, from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) applauded the relations between Harare and Beijing.
He said the training seminar will afford media practitioners the opportunity to learn more about China and how developing countries could learn from its growing economic influence.
As part of the seminar, journalists would visit different provinces and media houses in China, attend lectures and discuss issues pertaining to the role of the media in promoting development.
Online Reporter