Zim must leverage China’s Africa commitment, new opportunities

Tichaona Zindoga

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Political Bureau of the governing Communist Party of China, recently conducted a tour of Africa, visiting four countries — Namibia, Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.

The visit is part of a 35-year tradition in which China’s top diplomat begins global diplomatic engagement each year with a visit to the continent.

Wang was in Zimbabwe in 2020 as part of a similar tour.

The recent visit amplified China’s commitment to Africa, which is made more significant in that it came just four months after the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit held in Beijing in September.

This means the agenda for China-Africa cooperation is clear-cut, beginning with the implementation of outcomes of the summit, which came up with 10 partnership areas of cooperation.

The areas focus on mutual development and cooperation across various sectors such as trade, industrial cooperation, connectivity, health, agriculture, cultural exchanges, green development and security.

Wang’s visit to the four countries in Southern, Central and West Africa enables us to appreciate the comprehensive agenda China has with African countries, where 53 states enjoy strong bilateral relations with the Asian giant. The exception is Eswatini, which does not have formal relations with China because it recognises Taiwan, against the internationally recognised “One China” principle.

Through the prism of Wang’s visit, Zimbabwe should leverage China’s cooperation with Africa and position itself to benefit from FOCAC’s outcomes and deepen bilateral relations with the world’s second-largest economy. On the conclusion of his visit, Wang emphasised the unique relationship between China and Africa.

“The tradition of making Africa the first overseas destination for China’s foreign minister each new year is a hallmark of Chinese diplomacy, which has been upheld consistently for 35 years, setting a unique precedent in international relations,” said Wang.

He explained that during his visit to the four countries, he had in-depth exchanges with the respective leaders regarding implementation of the FOCAC Beijing Summit outcomes.

Regardless of changes in the international or regional landscape, China’s commitment to Africa remains unwavering, he said.

China will always be the most trustworthy friend of its African brothers and sisters, the most reliable partner in their pursuit of development and revitalisation, and the strongest supporter of Africa on the international stage.

Throughout the visits, Wang is quoted as saying it was evident that African countries attach great importance to implementing the FOCAC Summit outcomes and deepening China-Africa cooperation.

There is also an area — the Partnership Action for Mutual Learning among Civilisations, which ranks first among the 10 partnership action plans — that is being considered as a new frontier for China-Africa cooperation.

Another key context of the visit was China’s deepening of the idea of a Global South partnership. Wang said China and Africa should facilitate the rise of the Global South in a pragmatic manner.

As the largest developing country in the world, China has always been committed to promoting the unity and revitalisation of the Global South, he added.

Scaling up Zim-China relations

The year 2025 presents an opportunity for Zimbabwe and China to further deepen bilateral relations for mutual benefit to achieve win-win outcomes.

Critically, 2025 marks a milestone of 45 years of formal diplomatic relations; China being the first country to recognise the newly independent Zimbabwe in 1980.

The two countries have since enjoyed an all-weather friendship and good historical relations, which were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2018 during President Mnangagwa’s visit.

Last year, Harare and Beijing declared their relations “five-star ironclad”. On a practical level, what does this mean and what does 2025 hold for the two countries?

Guided by the 10 partnership action plans, and within the overall policy framework of FOCAC and the various concepts, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development, Global Security and Global Civilisation Initiatives, Zimbabwe and China will continue to cooperate in many areas, where they have already been working together.

The key is to deepen bilateral cooperation, and it will be crucial for both sides to diligently implement consensus and cooperation agreements, and explore innovative and pragmatic ways to bring tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

Zimbabwe-China ties, although strong diplomatically, are yet to fully develop in many areas. These include the economic domain. But there are encouraging signs, though. Trade between the two countries continues to rise each year, reaching new heights.

According to the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, trade grew by 25,6 percent in the first nine months of 2024, reaching US$3 billion.

Zimbabwe exported US$2,1 billion worth of goods to China, while importing products valued at US$951 million. This resulted in a trade surplus of about US$1 billion in favour of Zimbabwe.

The country mostly exports tobacco, chrome, ferroalloys, iron and steel, citrus, salt, sulfur, stone, plaster, lime and cement, according to data from the portal tradeeconomics.com. On the other hand, Zimbabwe imports electrical and electronic equipment, solar products, iron or steel articles, hair products and so on.

A comparison with other regional and African countries shows that Zimbabwe still has a lot of ground to cover with China in terms of trade, as it does not feature among top trading partners.

It currently trails countries such as South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.

Given the centrality of trade to Zimbabwe’s economic development, this is an area with great potential and many opportunities. Regarding industrial cooperation, China and Zimbabwe should work together to further tap into the potential for win-win cooperation in value addition, as well as skills and technology transfer.

This could see Zimbabwe exporting more finished products to China.

An exciting area that is under discussion is how to promote value addition in the lithium sector.

Zimbabwe is considered the fifth-largest producer of the white gold, which is critical for new forms of energy for vehicles and electronic gadgets vital for climate transition.

As the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), China already brings considerable skills and technologies to mining, a sector it dominates, and it will be crucial to continue harnessing these.

The US$13 billion mining-to-energy industrial park set to be established by Chinese group Eagle Canyon promises to represent excellence in industrial cooperation between China and Africa.

Exploration of opportunities in the exploitation of critical and rare earth minerals, which Zimbabwe has, and which China needs as a global industrial leader, should be pursued and supported by policy and investment.

In terms of connectivity, China has been pivotal in the development of Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector, with assistance and investments in broadband internet infrastructure.

China has also expanded local airports to increase capacity and modernised them as enablers of trade and tourism, while it has also assisted in the expansion of the Hwange Thermal Power Station by building two new units (7 and 8), resulting in the addition of 600 megawatts to the national grid, translating to about a third of current national generating capacity.

More opportunities abound to expand infrastructure such as roads, railways and water bodies.

China and Zimbabwe have a lot of unexplored or underexplored opportunities in the areas of health and agriculture, where currently there is cooperation largely in the transfer of skills and exploration of new models. Chinese experts in health and agriculture have even come in batches to assist locals.

More can be done in both areas, particularly in terms of mechanisation of agriculture to support poor farmers, tooling and resourcing health centres, as well as introducing technology-driven innovations, including artificial intelligence.

One potential area of growth, where Zimbabwe and China have already made progress, is cultural exchange, as there is increasing contact between the two peoples. Zimbabweans are learning the Chinese language at home and in China, as well as enjoying fine Chinese cuisine and traditions.

There are lots of opportunities to deepen cooperation in this field, especially bringing together young people from the two sides.

The Global Civilisation Initiative, which Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced to encourage mutual learning among civilisations, is a key policy pillar that could bring out more commonalities between the two countries, which will enhance mutual affinity and goodwill.

Lastly, in light of the evolving dynamics in the area of peace and security, China and Zimbabwe should continue to deepen relations, which began with the People’s Liberation Army assisting Zimbabwe’s guerrilla fighters in the 1960s-1970s.

With traditional and non-traditional threats to peace and security becoming an ever-increasing reality, including the conflict in Mozambique and cyber threats, the two countries should explore, coordinate and facilitate more cooperation to contribute to a peaceful world.

Enhanced China-Zimbabwe cooperation in the peace and security sector will assist the country in particular and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in general to deal with emerging and existing challenges, including terrorism and threats, and challenges posed by imperialist forces.

Tichaona Zindoga is the director of Ruzivo Media and Resource Centre, a Zimbabwean think tank.