‘Zim, China steadfast partners’

Wallace Ruzvidzo-Herald Reporter

CHINA takes great pride in standing alongside Zimbabwe as a steadfast partner in its post-independence development, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding has said.

In his remarks at the International Business Conference held yesterday on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, Ambassador Zhou said Harare and Beijing share the conviction that multilateralism and win-win cooperation are the only pathways to industrialisation and sustainable prosperity.

“The world today stands at a crossroads. While the global economy grapples with sluggish growth, rising protectionism, and geopolitical uncertainties, the need to craft an integrated economic landscape has never been more urgent.

“China and Zimbabwe, as steadfast partners, share a profound conviction: multilateralism and win-win cooperation are the only pathways to industrialisation and sustainable prosperity.

“This conviction is not theoretical — it is rooted in our shared history, and etched into the DNA of our bilateral relations, which have withstood the test of time for 45 glorious years,” he said.

Ambassador Zhou said China holds its relations with Zimbabwe in high regard.

“As we commemorate the 45th anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence and our diplomatic ties, we celebrate not just a milestone, but decades of our enduring solidarity and tangible achievements.

“China takes great pride in standing alongside Zimbabwe during its liberation struggle and serving as a steadfast partner in its post-independence development.

“For many years, China has been Zimbabwe’s largest source of foreign investment and one of its most significant trading partners. In the past year, this partnership continued to flourish: Chinese investments grew steadily, with new industrial and infrastructure projects either underway or just commissioned,” he said.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a historic peak of US$3,8 billion last year, a 23,9 percent year-on-year increase.

“The remarkable progress in our cooperation is inseparable from China’s own development, which has enabled it to provide greater support for Zimbabwe and Africa,” said Ambassador Zhou.

Speaking at the inaugural Research for Sustainable Industrialisation and Economic Development Indaba later yesterday, Ambassador Zhou said as a true friend, China supports Zimbabwe’s efforts to forge its own modernisation path. “Every nation’s journey is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all industrialisation model. For decades, China has financed and built a great number of key infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“The Chinese private sector has also been investing in Zimbabwe. China has remained Zimbabwe’s top foreign investor, with hundreds of Chinese enterprises actively contributing across various sectors,” he said.