derick.khumalo
Lincoln Towindo in Hangzhou, China
ZIMBABWE has secured firm commitments from major Chinese enterprises to partner the country in the beneficiation, value addition and industrialisation of its mineral resources, with the full success of a high-level investment mission to China set to be measured by the implementation of projects on the ground, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
Speaking at the conclusion of his working visit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, yesterday, Dr Chiwenga said the engagements with Chinese companies — spanning the mining, energy, technology and manufacturing sectors — had been productive, highlighting that promises alone would not count for success.
“We will see the full success of the mission when the programme starts evolving and we are seeing the projects being implemented,” he said.
“But having said that, we believe we had successful discussions with all the major companies that we met with.”
The mission’s central mandate, the Vice President said, was to ensure that investment in Zimbabwe must transform the country’s mineral wealth within its borders and not merely extract it.
“The focus is on implementing the programme that the Government of Zimbabwe wants to see take place – that is the beneficiation of our mineral resource that is God-given; that is value addition into manufacturing, that leads to what can be described as industrialisation of Zimbabwe,” he said.
During the visit, Dr Chiwenga announced that Government will no longer approve isolated, single-mineral mining operations, insisting instead on integrated investment capable of identifying, separating and processing multiple ores at source.
He toured Huayou Cobalt – which has invested over US$700 million at its Arcadia lithium mine in Goromonzi, including a concentrator and a lithium sulphate plant that began production this year – and Chilwee,
China’s largest battery manufacturer, which he courted to set up production in Zimbabwe where its raw materials are already mined.
The Vice President also visited Alibaba, met with the leaders of construction machinery giant Sany Group; railway builder China Railway 25th Bureau Group and toured the Hangzhou City Brain artificial intelligence command centre.
He also officiated at the Zimbabwe-China Business Forum, which was attended by key Chinese investors.
He said the mission gave practical effect to agreements already reached between the two countries’ leadership.
“This visit in the province, which is one of the powerhouses of China, has given us the opportunity to meet face to face and to bring that vision of Zimbabwe to be implemented, as it has already been agreed by our two leaders (President Mnangagwa and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping) and what was agreed by the two countries in their Joint Permanent Commission held in Harare,” Dr Chiwenga said.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China, Mrs Abigail Shoniwa, confirmed that Chinese enterprises had already begun responding to the investment invitation.
She, however, said follow-ups would determine the mission’s ultimate value.
“The message that came with the Vice President was to look for investment, but also a message that Zimbabwe is looking for investors that are able to partner with us so that we value add and industrialise. That was the critical message of this mission and we are very happy that message has been heard, because of the feedback that has already been received,” she said.
“The agenda has been set and there will be a lot of work ahead. What is critical is follow-up on what has been discussed.”
Mrs Shoniwa said energy featured prominently in the engagements, with a number of companies expressing strong interest in new energy projects, partnerships she said were indispensable, “because we cannot talk about industrialisation without energy.”
She added that the delegation drew lessons from China’s technological frontier, including the Hangzhou City Brain platform, which uses artificial intelligence to manage transport, hospitals and municipal services.
She said such experiences said would inform the development Zimbabwe’s planned smart cities.
“My assessment is that we will have quite a number of investors that will be coming through to Zimbabwe to respond to the invitation for investment,” she said.
Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Willard Manungo, said the mission was anchored on the country’s development agenda of growing the economy and raising incomes.
“Our vision is growing the economic cake; growing the incomes of the average Zimbabwean. For us to be able to grow that cake, we need economic transformation,” he said.
“The visit by the Vice President is to entrench the industrialisation agenda by working with Chinese enterprises – those that already have a footprint in Zimbabwe and those that are yet to enter the Zimbabwean market – to entice them to come in and join us. It’s a win-win arrangement for both Zimbabwe and China. With a Zimbabwe that is economically transformed, the benefits we bring to the partnership mean we all win.”
The working visit began in Beijing with bilateral meetings and tours of various industries before moving to Zhejiang Province, one of China’s industrial powerhouses.
The province is home to global giants including Alibaba and Huayou Cobalt.
