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Zimbabwe, China economic relations grow

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SINCE the adoption of the Look East policy by Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium after Britain and its allies imposed illegal sanctions against the country, the relationship between Zimbabwe and the East has been criticised by detractors as an exploitative partnership.
The so-called independent media has been saying the Look East policy opened doors for Beijing to loot Zimbabwe’s valuable natural resources and secure lucrative deals for Chinese state-owned firms without any benefit to the country.
However, this undue and biased media scrutiny has led many to wonder whether the country is benefiting from its relations with China, the major player in the East.
What is the intention of China in assisting Zimbabwe when the ‘whole’ world has ‘abandoned’ the country?
It is critical to note that the China-Zimbabwe relations did not begin in recent years, but date back to the days of the liberation struggle, making China Zimbabwe’s all-weather friend.
China was one of the countries that provided military assistance to the guerrillas in the form of arms and training of personnel.
China has also stood by Zimbabwe on major international platforms such as the United Nations in support of its progressive policies like the Land Reform Programme.
According to recent statistics released by the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Lin Lin, bilateral economic relationship between the two countries has grown significantly.
Contrary to claims by Western media, Zimbabwe has not only been a consumer of Chinese products, but exports to China have increased over the years.
“Our bilateral trade has also grown tremendously- statistics point to an 8,5 percent increase between 2012 and 2013, reaching US$1,1 billion of which Zimbabwe export is US$688 million and import is US$414 million,” said Ambassador Lin Lin.
Zimbabwe has also emerged as a favourite destination for Chinese investment. The country has the highest investment from China compared to other nations on the continent reflecting the commitment of the Asian country to save the country’s economy from collapse.
“Chinese annual investment in Zimbabwe reached US$602 million in 2013 which is the largest amount of Chinese investment among African nations,” Ambassador Lin Lin said.
“China Exim Bank has provided over US$1 billion worth of preferential, concessionary and commercial loans in recent years for projects including the construction of National Defence College, Harare water treatment, medical equipment for Harare hospitals, Victoria Falls Airport expansion and Kariba South hydro power station expansion among others.
“In the past three years, the total amount of China’s official assistance for Zimbabwe, namely grant and interest free loans amount to over US$100 million which is decisively larger than what China provides to most other African countries.”
Pundits contend that the reportage in Western media is meant to destroy a relationship that has made the West redundant when it comes to Zimbabwe.
The West hoped that by imposing illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe, the subsequent suffering would result in the country abandoning its pro-people programmes.
But instead of going back to beg for mercy as anticipated by the West, the country strengthened its relations with the East mainly China.
Britain formerly enjoyed trade relationship with Zimbabwe and its appetite and interests in Zimbabwe has continued to grow and the penetration of Chinese in the county’s economy is a threat to their interests which they continue to pursue.
The Western behaviour has not only been exhibited in Zimbabwe, but in all the countries in Africa where China has been engaged.
In 2007 when the Chinese President Hu Jintao went to Zambia during his 12-day African tour, he was greeted by a lot of disdain from Western-sponsored non- governmental organisations (NGOs) who wanted to create a false perception that the visit was intended to find ways of exploiting Africa.

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