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ASKEPTIC is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it is a forgery.” The quote is from Morris Bender, one of the most widely published neurologists of his generation. When Zimbabwe and China signed a number of bilateral agreements last year after the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Mugabe visited China, there was some hullabaloo from the usual suspects who dismissed the visit as a waste of taxpayers’ money.
But last week, such doubting Thomases were left to eat humble pie when Chinese President, Xi Jinping made a reciprocal trip to Zimbabwe to make a follow-up on talks held in China, and also to ink more deals that will benefit the country. Of course, there are some within our midst who still think it’s all “forgery”, but judging by the political perspective in which they view things happening in our motherland, we can only pray that they wake up from their deep slumber and realise that indeed, the future looks bright.
The International Monetary Fund has now granted the Chinese currency reserve status, which means the Chinese yuan is one of the world’s strongest. Moreover, the largest telecoms equipment maker in the world is China and the biggest hydropower construction companies in the world are in China, including the biggest banks in the world; four of the top five according to Forbes are Chinese. That is why the visit by the Chinese President and his delegation was a milestone.
The visit by the Chinese President, whose economy is also the second biggest in the world to the US, put icing on the cake on an eventful year for Zimbabwe and President Mugabe, after the His Excellency started the year on a high, when he took over the reigns of leading the region and continent as chairman of Sadc and the AU.
It was the second visit to the country by a Chinese President since President Jiang Zemin visited Harare in 1996, and the fact that President Xi Jinping lived true to his promise of visiting Zimbabwe, showed that the country’s all weather friend was indeed sincere in giving a helping hand, and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries that started during the pre-independence era, with China assisting to liberate the country from the bondage of colonialism.
And China did not stop there, when the country attained independence, China continued to support the country, and even went a step further to remind the self-appointed “world prefects” the US and the UK, not to meddle in internal affairs of the country.
The two-day State visit by the Chinese President followed President Mugabe’s successful 13th State visit to China in August last year, where another set of nine mega deals was signed. And last week, 12 landmark agreements between the two countries to fund vital projects in key economic sectors were signed, and they are expected to give impetus to the county’s economic blueprint, Zim Asset. The signing of the new agreements, which cover key sectors such as infrastructure, telecommunications and energy was witnessed by Heads of State and Government of the two countries, President Mugabe and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Some of the deals included funding for the Hwange Power Station expansion. The expansion project at Hwange will see Sinohydro from China adding two units with a capacity of 600MW. There were further deals signs on aviation co-operation, construction of a national pharmaceutical warehouse and an agreement on the construction of a new Parliament building as well as communication and technology and courier services. There was also a donation from China of equipment for wildlife protection in Zimbabwe. Two more private sector agreements were also signed between International Business of China and China Africa Sunlight Energy on the development of coal and methane gas mines as well the establishment of 600MW thermal power station in Gwayi. The other agreement was between AVM Africa Limited and Beijing Automobile Assembly, among others.
Earlier on, President Mugabe had described China as Zimbabwe’s best friend at international level. He said the relationship between the two countries was not premised on the fact that China was a rich country, but that the Chinese were people of action. After attaining political independence, President Mugabe said, Zimbabwe embarked on another struggle to empower people economically. He said Zimbabwe was seeking financial support from the Chinese to convert the country’s vast natural resources into wealth.
“We now have freedom and the task at hand is to convert our natural resources into wealth for our people,” said President Mugabe.
In response, President Xi who was speaking through an interpreter, said China placed high premium to its relations with Zimbabwe. He said his visit, which was the only one on a bilateral level during his second visit to Africa, was in fulfilment of the promise that he made to President Mugabe last year that Zimbabwe would be his first destination on his second visit to Africa.
Other projects between Zimbabwe and China are already underway, and what is left is for policy implementers to put on their work suits and busy themselves with work on the ground. The President has played his part to source resources and support for projects that will truly transform people’s lives.
Online Reporter