Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe in Beijing, China
IN the pulsating heart of China’s capital, a narrative of transformation unfolded last week.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Dr Zhemu Soda on Wednesday concluded a packed working visit that was less a diplomatic routine and more a strategic blueprint for the future.
From the high-tech corridors of China’s global media giants to the intimate boardroom of Zimbabwe House, Dr Soda delivered a dual message: Harare is ready for a media revolution and the country’s economic ground is shifting beneath the feet of a new, prosperous reality.
The trip reached its zenith on Monday with high-level talks between Dr Soda and China’s Minister of the National Radio and Television Administration, Cao Shumin.
The two nations set the stage for a transformative leap in information cooperation.
The air was thick with the language of modernisation — content exchange, technology transfer and professional training were not just agenda items but pledges of a shared future.
Dr Soda expressed profound gratitude for the existing partnership, noting that Zimbabwe has already been airing significant volumes of Chinese content.
But he was quick to pivot to the future.
“There has been some content which was being shared with us in our country which our national broadcaster has been airing on television, including our radio stations, to give awareness on what China has to offer,” said Dr Soda.
However, the minister’s tone shifted from thanks to ambition as he outlined the next phase.
“We appreciate the assistance, especially in the area of content creation, co-production of content, where possibly our people have an opportunity to be trained so that as we exchange our content, the content meets specifications from your expected standards for viewing,” he explained.
“You know the audience that you have here in China. So it’s an area that we think we could deepen co-operation.”
In response, Minister Cao Shumin spoke of China’s vast experience in international co-productions, expressing an open readiness to share expertise.
The message was clear: the people-to-people relations between the two nations are about to get a digital turbocharge.
To understand the scale of Dr Soda’s vision, one had to witness the delegation’s tour of the China Group Television Network (CGTN) headquarters.
It was, in the minister’s own words, “eye-opening.”
Walking through the sprawling newsroom housed in a 42-story building, the Zimbabwean delegation was confronted by a wall of screens tracking global events in real-time and a hum of activity where journalists worked alongside IT experts.
The centrepiece of the tour was the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in news production — from compiling historical data dating back to 1949 to generating real-time stories.
As of that morning, CGTN boasted an online audience of over 629 million, with more than 5 million new users in the last 30 days alone.
“Our visit to CGTN has been eye-opening,” Dr Soda told Zimpapers at Zimbabwe House.
“We have been shown how work is organised in terms of the collection of news, the production of the various content that is then distributed on the various news platforms,” he paused, emphasising the technical edge.
“And most importantly, I have seen that the teams that will be working towards the compilation of news are supported by a team of experts in modern technologies, like the IT personnel.
“That also helps them in preparation of their news content, which aligns with the modern trends and expectations.”
Perhaps most resonant for the delegation was CGTN’s strategic pivot.
“Our slogan at CGTN is ‘To see the Difference’ — and the difference is biased from Western media,” explained representative Liu Yunzhe to the delegation.
“We want to offer objective news to the Global South,” she added with firm conviction.
It is a philosophy that aligns deeply with Zimbabwe’s own developmental journalism agenda.
During the week, the delegation, in a packed seminar room, heard a powerful call to action.
Professor Zhang Long of the School of Journalism and Communication urged the delegation to harness the power of audio-visual technology, including mobile phones, to tell compelling stories about poverty alleviation.
Such storytelling, he argued, would not only inspire local development but also deepen the “five-star ironclad” relations between Zimbabwe and China.
Professor Zhang made the remarks during his presentation, “Technology Empowered Audio-Visual Communication: How to Tell the Story of Chinese Modernisation through Visual Media.”
He emphasised that poverty alleviation is not separate from modernisation; it is the very foundation of it.
“Chinese modernisation is characterised by common prosperity for all,” Prof Zhang said.
“Targeted poverty alleviation is China’s pathway to achieving modernisation. It shows that development must be balanced, inclusive, and people-centred.”
He pointed to a uniquely Chinese mechanism that Zimbabwe could study closely.
“Here in China, we have what we call a targeted poverty alleviation strategy, where talented individuals in communities who are called First Secretaries are identified.
“They could be teachers or artists and they are sent to rural areas to use their skills and knowledge to alleviate poverty.
“They sacrifice their professions to alleviate poverty. In China, teachers are well respected,” said Professor Zhang.
Echoing this sentiment, Ambassador Sun Jiwen of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicated that another cornerstone of China’s success is inter-provincial pairing.
“China has adopted a policy where rich provinces twin with poor provinces to assist them in growing economically.
“This twinning arrangement brings investment, technical expertise and market access to poorer regions. It is solidarity in action. This is how China ensures no region is left behind on the march to modernisation,” he said.
He noted that most “young people are now migrating from cities to rural areas to improve their communities.”
Professor Zhang stressed that audio-visual media can powerfully communicate success stories as part of telling the story of Chinese modernisation.
“Use mobile journalism to follow one family’s journey out of poverty. Visual evidence builds public trust and political will. This is how China tells its modernisation story to the world,” he told the delegation.
He indicated that visual storytelling is a powerful tool to convey messages.
For instance, he said in 2025, about 1 093 billion online viewers had watched videos online, and short online videos had generated 1 074 billion views.
“Zimbabwe is a warm country with a rich history. So tell the story of Zimbabwe to Chinese audiences and to the world and that will strengthen our mutual co-operation,” he said.
While the media deals captured headlines, Dr Soda saved his most passionate address for the Zimbabwean diaspora.
That was on Wednesday evening and Ambassador to China Abigail Shonhiwa and embassy staff attended.
Gathering students, academics, and Zanu-PF leadership at the ambassadorial boardroom of Zimbabwe House, the minister shed the diplomat’s suit and spoke as a mobiliser.
The room, filled with Zimbabweans pursuing studies across Beijing, listened intently as he painted a picture of a nation defying gravity.
“We have a vision back home that as we get to the year 2030, our aspiration is that of becoming an upper-middle-income society,” said Dr Soda.
“This is a collective responsibility. Whether you are home or you are away, we are all responsible for realising this vision.”
The minister then laid out the statistics of the Second Republic’s success under the just-concluded National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Despite global shocks and climate-induced droughts, Zimbabwe outperformed its targets.
“During the first five years, we had targeted to achieve around 5 percent growth of the economy. But by the time we closed the NDS1, we had achieved 6,6 percentage points in terms of our growth,” he revealed.
“And the revision, which was done by the IMF, suggested that we surpassed that growth target to around 7,2 percent.”
He attributed this anchor of stability to the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, adopted on April 7, 2024.
“I think yesterday or two days ago, when the vaults were opened, we had surpassed about 4,5 tons of gold that is now in our vaults and that has been the source of the stability of our currency.”
The evidence, Dr Soda argued, was on the ground. He pointed to the Harare-Beitbridge Road, now 95 percent complete; the new Parliament building in Mount Hampden rising like a modernist beacon; and the energy sector, where the completion of Hwange Units 7 and 8 has added 600 megawatts.
“As we speak, we have now gone beyond four months without a lot of load shedding in the country,” he announced to applause.
From the construction of Kunzvi and Gwayi-Shangani dams to secure food production, to the shift towards heritage-based education that prioritises job creation over job-seeking, the minister painted a portrait of a nation rebounding.
As NDS2 is being rolled out, Dr Soda acknowledged the work still to be done, but his message to the diaspora was unequivocal: Zimbabwe is open for business and the time to invest is now.
In his closing remarks, Dr Soda addressed the key issue of image building, saying: “Zimbabwe should be viewed globally as a progressive and peaceful nation.”
He added, “We are a development-oriented country and this is the image that the world should see and hear about us,” underscoring that perception directly influences foreign direct investment, tourism inflows and international co-operation.
A positive global image, he noted, reduces the risk premium that investors attach to emerging markets, making it easier for Zimbabwe to attract capital, technology and expertise needed to realise Vision 2030.
In one of his addresses, the minister said Zimbabwe and China’s strategic diplomatic cooperation is premised on enduring mutual understanding, reinforcing Beijing’s position as one of Harare’s largest trading partners and sources of investment.
The deepening relationship is increasingly being viewed through an economic lens, with its impact reflected in rising trade volumes, capital inflows and a gradual structural shift towards industrialisation and value addition.
Over the past two decades, Zimbabwe-China relations have evolved from primarily diplomatic engagement into a broad-based economic partnership, now central to Zimbabwe’s growth trajectory and Vision 2030 ambitions.
Dr Soda said China remains Zimbabwe’s largest source of foreign investment with commitments reaching US$10 billion.
The growth of economic ties between Harare and Beijing also shows that various investment policies unveiled by the Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, are bearing fruit.
He said Zimbabwe will forever remain indebted to China’s unwavering political and economic support, which was further cemented when the Asian giant used its United Nations veto power to block a Western-backed resolution to impose illegal crippling sanctions on the country.
The support at a time of Zimbabwe’s international vulnerability now stands as a cornerstone for co-operation in various sectors, he said.
He noted that the friendship between Zimbabwe and China is a bond solidified through unwavering diplomatic solidarity.
“We shall never forget that in our hour of greatest vulnerability, China stood as our primary defence against international isolation.
“A defining moment occurred on July 1, 2008, at the United Nations Security Council, when China exercised its veto power to block a Western-backed resolution seeking to impose crippling sanctions.
“This act of brotherhood sent an unambiguous message: Zimbabwe sovereignty is not for sale,” said Dr Soda.
Dr Soda said the action stands sacred to the country’s past and is a cornerstone “of our bilateral history”.
For the delegation of over 20 media practitioners still in the seminar running until May 20, organised by The Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO) under China’s Ministry of Commerce, the lesson from Beijing is equally clear: in the race to modernise, Zimbabwe is not just catching up, it is learning to tell its own story, one mobile phone frame at a time.
