Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe in Beijing, China
China-Zimbabwe cooperation can move from ‘seeing each other’ to creating together,” phase, Chinese actor-academic Jiayang Sangzhu has said.
China has turned its film sector into economic engines that drive millions of tourists to remote locations.
Jiayang Sangzhu urged Zimbabwe to adopt a similar strategy to market itself to the world.
“China-Zimbabwe cooperation can move from ‘seeing each other ‘ to creating together.
“Link cinema with tourism and people-to-people learning. Let Zimbabwean audiences see China while encouraging more Chinese filmmakers to enter Zimbabwe largely,” he told a Zimbabwean media delegation in Beijing on Monday.
The old model of simply screening movies overseas has become obsolete, he argued, calling instead for a sophisticated mechanism where content, communication, physical locations and consumer spending operate as a single, integrated system.
“Film is not a slogan. It is a coordination mechanism. Films are now an entry point for the tourism travel sector,” Jiayang Sangzhu said.
“Content should be seen as the source, communication as the amplifier, scenes as the converter and consumption as the outcome.”
“The new logic is not simply to send films abroad; it is to organise stories,” he explained.
International audiences, after watching Chinese films, develop specific geographic curiosity, he noted. The ultimate measure of success, the academic stressed, is not how many people watch a film, but how many book a flight.
“They will know about various landmarks and ignite in them the desire to combine film and real-life experience by travelling.”
“International film communication no longer stops at overseas awareness. It can be converted into arrival, experience and consumption.”
“Travel deepens national image perception. Inbound tourism activates awareness.”
For Zimbabwe, which boasts world-class landmarks including Victoria Falls, the Great Zimbabwe ruins and the Matopos Hills, the lesson is urgent. A film festival, properly executed, can do more than celebrate art: it can fill hotels, restaurants and tour buses.
He emphasised that the benefits of such cooperation extend beyond economics.
“When nations collaborate through cinema, they build something deeper than a transaction,” Jiayang Sangzhu said.
“When cinema becomes the medium, exchange becomes more than promotion. It becomes cultural dialogue, industrial learning and trust-building between societies.”
According to the latest quarterly report from China’s National Immigration Administration released on April 15, 2026, foreign nationals made 13.07 million cross-border trips in the first quarter of 2026 alone – a remarkable 41.7 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Overall border crossings, including Chinese citizens, reached 160 million, underscoring a robust revival of international travel.
This resurgence is driven not merely by business or diaspora travel, but by a surge in tourism, with first-time visitors drawn by curiosity, improved accessibility and a more authentic portrayal of China’s cultural and modern identity.
For Zimbabwe, narrative control and strategic destination branding are no longer optional, he added they are the keys to reshaping global perceptions and attracting new visitor segments.
Colletta Dube
Bunjiwe Mkwananzi