Online Reporter
Mukudzei Chingwere in Beijing, China
ZIMBABWE and China are poised to deepen economic cooperation as Chinese companies are prepared to bring technology and investment into the country, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
Speaking during an interview after completing the final leg of his programme in Beijing and Hebei Province yesterday, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe was ready to translate lessons from China’s rapid technological and industrial development into tangible projects back home.
The Vice-President has since completed his itinerary in Beijing and the neighbouring Hebei Province and is now in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, where he is continuing his investment and business mission.
His final engagements in Xiong’an New Area saw him tour the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park and the Jucun “1+5+X” Urban Smart Energy Integrated Station, two facilities showcasing China’s advances in innovation, medical technologies, research and development, and integrated smart-energy systems.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga meets Hebei Province Governor Wang Zhengpu in Xiong’an New Area, China yesterday. Picture Mukudzei Chingwere
VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe was eager to acquire technology and expertise, while the Chinese enterprises visited had indicated their willingness to consider cooperation.“The medical park that we have just visited here in Xiong’an, in the new city, and now we have come to the energy park, has clearly showed us how China has evolved and developed to be where they are now,” said VP Chiwenga.
“All these two areas that we have visited are of great importance. They are game-changers.
“The companies here that we have visited, they are very eager to come and work with us, and we are eager to work with them …”
The visits dovetail with Zimbabwe’s drive to develop the new city in Mt Hampden, expand domestic pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing capacity and secure adequate, affordable energy to underpin industrialisation.
During his earlier engagement with Hebei Governor Mr Wang Zhengpu and Xiong’an New Area
Party Working Committee secretary Mr Zhang Guohua, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe wanted a new partnership with Hebei that would complement the Zimbabwe-China All-Weather Community with a Shared Future and expand Chinese investment into beneficiation, value addition, manufacturing and integrated industrial value chains.
Zimbabwe, he added, could not sustainably meet its healthcare requirements without developing domestic medical research, manufacturing and innovation capabilities.
“Starting with the medical side, we can never be able to satisfy the needs and requirements of our populace if we don’t go into developing our own medical facilities, if we don’t go into establishing our own science parks,” he said.
“Already the idea of having a medical Silicon Valley in Zimbabwe is already on the cards.”
Such a development, he said, could provide a platform through which Zimbabwe works with established Chinese research and technology institutions to build local expertise.
China’s Zhongguancun ecosystem has extensive interests in pharmaceuticals, healthcare and medical technology, with its science parks covering innovative drugs, high-end medical equipment, precision medicine and health services.
“Once that has been established, we are able to work hand-in-glove with such institutions like here in Xiong’an, in China, who are already established,” said VP Chiwenga.
“For now we want to be in a position to be able to make our own vaccines, to make our own drugs, to make our own medical equipment, to go deeper into medical research,” said VP Chiwenga.
At the Jucun “1+5+X” Urban Smart Energy Integrated Station, the delegation was exposed to an integrated approach to electricity infrastructure and urban development.
VP Chiwenga said reliable and competitively priced electricity was indispensable to Zimbabwe’s industrial ambitions.
“Now coming to energy, which is an enabler for every economic activity, we just have to move fast and harness all the resources that are available to us and generate enough energy for our use in the future and to sell in the region,” he said.
Zimbabwe, he added, was already pursuing a diversified energy mix encompassing hydro, thermal and solar power, while also looking towards wind energy.
The ultimate objective was to generate electricity cheaply and efficiently so that Zimbabwean manufacturers could become more competitive.
“We need to move faster. And we need to bring our people on board, the private sector,” he said.
“Not only to wait for the Government, but the private sector must play a major role so that they can produce enough and put it on the national grid …”
VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe wanted to draw lessons from that model in developing a new city in Mt Hampden outside Harare and pursue enduring partnerships with Hebei, including possible cooperation in infrastructure planning and development.
Before leaving for Wenzhou, he expressed confidence that the engagements would open new frontiers of cooperation between Zimbabwe, Xiong’an and Hebei Province.
Meanwhile, the VP arrived in Wenzhou, China, last night to begin the second and final leg of high-level engagements with the Chinese private sector.
The engagements will focus on possible collaboration and investment opportunities in a range of sectors spanning green energy, power development, mining, manufacturing and value addition.
VP Chiwenga, who is accompanied by his wife Dr Miniyothabo Chiwenga, was welcomed at Wenzhou Airport by Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Zhejiang Province, Mr Chen Jiang Feng and Mr Cui Bo, Vice Mayor of the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Government in Zhejiang Province.
His Wenzhou programme will include engagements with some of China’s leading industrialists, among them Tsingshan Holding Group chairperson Mr Xiang Guangda, whose company has established a significant presence in Zimbabwe through investments in steel, ferrochrome, coking coal, lithium and power.
Today he is scheduled to tour the headquarters of Tsingshan Holding Group before meeting Mr Xiang for high-level talks expected to focus on the group’s existing investments and opportunities for further expansion in Zimbabwe.
Tsingshan’s Zimbabwe operations include the Dinson Iron and Steel Company’s integrated steel project at Manhize, which began production in 2024, as well as investments in ferrochrome, coal and lithium.
The group has also developed a 50-megawatt captive power plant at Manhize and has outlined plans for further investments in power and other supporting infrastructure.
VP Chiwenga is also scheduled to tour the headquarters of CHINT Group, a Chinese multinational specialising in smart energy solutions, intelligent electrical systems and low-carbon technologies.
Founded in 1984, CHINT operates across more than 140 countries and has interests spanning green energy, intelligent electrical solutions and smart low-carbon technologies.
