Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe in BEIJING, China
A SENIOR Chinese academic has issued a direct call for Zimbabwean Government institutions and companies to proactively approach and appraise their Chinese counterparts on areas of strategic cooperation, urging both sides to move beyond broad agreements and focus on crafting and implementing joint projects that “produce good results.”
Professor Bu Xu, President of the Institute of International Development and Security Studies at Jiangsu University, made the remarks on Monday during a question-and-answer session following his presentation on “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and China’s Foreign Policy” at the Seminar for Media Professionals for Zimbabwe in Beijing.
The seminar is organised by the Academy for International Business Officials.
“Both China and Zimbabwe need to determine how we can make concrete progress by having some projects that will produce good results for people in your country and people of China,” Professor Xu said.
He stressed that while African nations and China have long been searching for development pathways, genuine breakthroughs require candid dialogue about specific needs and local realities.
“African countries and China have been trying to find ways of development. While we understand each of us has our own conditions, we must try to find a common ground.
” For example, which way you believe Zimbabwe can cooperate with China or what kind of new technologies, equipment Zimbabwe needs most from China, what kind of joint venture can be set up in Zimbabwe to make sure people will benefit from this kind of cooperation,” he said.
“That is really the question I hope to ask: what kind of projects Zimbabwe needs most from China.”
The appeal comes at a moment of significant policy momentum, following the implementation on May 1 of China’s zero-tariff arrangement for a broad range of African products entering the Chinese market.
