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Guo Shaochun
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe
China and Africa enjoy an enduring friendship and pursue mutual benefit and win-win co-operation.
On November 29, 2021, President Xi Jinping of China delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), in which he articulated the spirit of China-Africa friendship and co-operation for the first time, elaborated on the four proposals for building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
President Xi also announced nine programmes for practical co-operation with Africa in the next three years to come.
The programmes cover medical service and health, poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade and investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, and peace and security, which demonstrated China’s sincere desire and firm determination to seek common development, meet challenges together and share opportunities.
2022 is the first year to implement the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC.
Taking this as a new starting point, China and Africa have been vigorously carrying forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and collaboration, and fostering high-quality co-operation in the new era.
In the first half year of 2022, China’s imports from Africa increased by nearly 20 percent year on year. Major projects in Africa are steadily making progress, reflecting the vitality of China-Africa co-operation.
China and Zimbabwe are good friends, good partners and good brothers with a shared future.
Both countries have vigorously been advancing the implementation of the outcomes of FOCAC meetings, and actively pushing forward the nine programmes, helping Zimbabwe implement the National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025) (NDS1) and Vision 2030.
The anti-epidemic and medical co-operation have achieved remarkable results with mutual assistance.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, China has sent an anti-epidemic medical expert team to Zimbabwe and given assistance of 2 million doses of vaccines.
Overseas Chinese in Zimbabwe have donated to the renovation of Zimbabwe’s designated hospital for Covid-19, which effectively help Zimbabwe deal with the epidemic. China will soon provide another 10 million doses of vaccine assistance to consolidate Zimbabwe’s anti-epidemic efforts.
China is continuously helping Zimbabwe to improve the software and hardware conditions in the medical and health sector.
The pharmaceutical warehouse with a storage capacity of 10 000 pallets has been completed, which will greatly enhance the drug storage capacity and market adjustment function.
Doctors from the 19th Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe are working in various departments at the Parirenyatwa Hospital while the China-Zimbabwe Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Centre is providing free services to Zimbabweans.
China has been co-operating with UNICEF to provide medical and health services to nearly 2 million people in Zimbabwe, including women and children.
Achievements of mutual benefit and pragmatic co-operation are gratifying.
Overcoming the impact of the pandemic, China and Zimbabwe are working together to push forward bilateral economic and trade co-operation.
The new parliament building is the most modern and functional structure in Africa, which is a testimony to China-Zimbabwe friendship.
A series of infrastructure projects aided by China, including Kariba South Power Station expansion project, Hwange Power Station expansion project, Victoria Falls International Airport and Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport upgrading projects as well as NetOne Phase III project, will further consolidate the foundation of Zimbabwe’s economic development, and create a long-term, sustainable economic and social value.
Chinese companies are investing and starting businesses in Zimbabwe, of which the large-scale steel plant project is progressing smoothly, and the lithium mine project will revitalise the resources that have been left idle for a long time by Western companies.
Chinese companies are actively fulfilling corporate social responsibilities by promoting local communities’ development, providing jobs for local people and improving their living conditions.
The bilateral trade between China and Zimbabwe has continued to grow.
In the first half of 2022, the bilateral trade volume reached US$973 million with an increase of 56.6 percent, of which China imported US$504 million from Zimbabwe and exported US$469 million to Zimbabwe, up 103.2 percent and 25.6 percent respectively.
Assistance to poverty alleviation and rural improvement is widely commended.
China always regards improving the well-being of the Zimbabwean people as the goal of bilateral relationship.
In response to climate change and the post-disaster reconstruction of Cyclone Idai, since 2019, China has provided Zimbabwe with a number of assistance through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), covering women and children health care, post-disaster reconstruction, food security and other fields.
A 1 000 borehole drilling project financed by Chinese grants has been completed, which effectively alleviate water shortage in Zimbabwean rural areas and benefit 400 000 people.
The fourth agricultural expert group will come soon to carry out agricultural demonstration projects. China and Zimbabwe have signed a protocol for exporting citrus to China and are discussing export details, which will help Zimbabwean fruit farmers increase production and income.
Under the framework of FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China and Zimbabwe have broad prospects and great potential for friendly co-operation.
Both sides will continue to seek paths of development; synergise strategies, promote the complementarity of China’s technology and experience with Zimbabwe’s resources and development potential, and strive for more achievements in the comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership to benefit the two peoples.
Zimbabwe and China will also deepen practical co-operation, tap greater collaboration potential and deepen ties in the mining and agricultural sectors.
The two countries will also strengthen digital economic cooperation, expand trade and investment scale, and pursue economic recovery and social development in Zimbabwe in the post-pandemic era.
Both sides will strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
More Zimbabweans will be invited to participate in workshops and training in China, deepen interactions in various fields such as culture, education, medical care, and increase assistance to people’s livelihoods such as education and medical care to facilitate people-to-people bonds and cultural exchanges between China and Zimbabwe.
China-Zimbabwe co-operation has never been a case of talk but a real action. Facing the new era, China and Zimbabwe will continue to move forward hand in hand, implementing the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of co-operation between our two countries.
The two countries will accelerate the economic and social development of Zimbabwe, by which we will write a new chapter of mutually beneficial and win-win co-operation between China and Zimbabwe, and build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
Online Reporter
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