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infrastructure during his tour of duty.
Ambassador Lin said this after presenting his credentials to President Mugabe at State House yesterday. “My main task is to try to push forward the existing co-operation between the two sides. China is number two economy in the world and we believe we can contribute more to the development of African countries.
“I think the area of infrastructure will be my focus as well as the area of co-operation between our two countries.
“The infrastructure has gone down for various reasons and I think it needs improvement, especially in the area of water supply and electricity. We can do something in those areas,” he said.
The country’s infrastructure has deteriorated in the past decade due to economic challenges.
Ambassador Lin said the co-operation in the areas of mining and agriculture could be further strengthened as Zimbabwe had potential to develop based on the two sectors.
Zimbabwe and China have signed a number of agreements in various sectors of the economy.
Anjin Investment, a joint venture company between the two countries is currently involved in the mining of diamonds in Marange while the Chinese also provided loans for the construction of the National Defence College.
It has also provided funds for renovations of infrastructure in Victoria Falls ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly to be co-hosted with Zambia next year.
The Chinese government has also provided a US$150 million loan facility to Harare City Council to revamp its water and sewer reticulation systems.
China and Russia also vetoed efforts by Britain and her allies to abuse the UN system by imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Ambassador Lin said he was honoured to represent his country in Zimbabwe.
He has held various diplomatic posts in Africa and was posted to Uganda between 1985 and 1989 and then South Africa from 1994 to 1998.
He was then appointed ambassador to Ethiopia between 2004 and 2008 before his latest deployment to Zimbabwe. Ambassador Lin takes over from former ambassador Xin Shunkang who is now China’s ambassador to Namibia.
Online Reporter